Hobbits, Hovercrafts and Headaches (Part 3)
by shiawasena neko
Summary: Part 3 of Hobbits, Hovercrafts and Headaches - an mpreg story featuring various Johnny Depp characters. It's also the sequel to St. Joseph's Shelter for Men.
1. Chapter 51

A/N: Thanks to Phish Tacko for beta'ing this! Go read her stuff!

Ch. 51

While Sweeney was being poked and prodded to check for injury, halfway across the world, Ichabod was also in a hospital. The main difference was that he was cowering in the corner of the room, shaking.

No one had been able to figure out what was wrong with him. He wouldn't talk. Just kind of stared at the walls, and whimpered if anyone got too close.

The doctors had no idea what was wrong. The nurse had found him that way when she made her morning rounds. The man who'd raped him had slipped out that night, and had subsequently been caught by hospital security, but no one knew that he'd been in Ichabod's room.

Now, three of the doctors were in the room, trying to get him to talk, or at least move from the corner.

"Mr. Crane, can you please tell us what's bothering you?" One asked.

Ichabod quickly shook his head 'no', and curled up even further into himself.

The doctor sighed, frustrated. They'd been there for at least twenty minutes, which felt like hours for the doctors.

"Go get the psychologist," He finally said. "Maybe he can get through."

The other doctors nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Ichabod in his spot.

00

It didn't take the psychologist long to figure out a theory on what'd happened. All he'd had to do was flip back the blanket on Ichabod's bed, revealing a massive blood stain. It had confirmed his original thoughts. Ichabod was exhibiting what he considered to be classic signs of someone who had been assaulted.

Not wanting to threaten Ichabod any further, the doctor kneeled down to get on eye level with the man.

"Ichabod," He said softly. "I need to talk to you."

Ichabod looked at him, but said nothing.

"Are you in any pain?"

Ichabod shrugged.

"The reason I'm asking is because it looks like someone hurt you. Did someone come in and hurt you?"

No answer.

"Since you're pregnant, we have to examine you to make sure that the baby isn't hurt. Do you understand?"

"Yes. And no exam." Ichabod stared straight at the psychologist, as if daring him to challenge him.

"But the baby could be hurt."

"You don't even know what happened."

"I have a pretty good idea, and if I'm right, you need to be checked out. We can give you something to calm you, if you want." The doctor reached out to touch Ichabod's shoulder reassuringly, but Ichabod instantly jumped back to get away from him.

This was definitely going to be harder than he thought.

00

It was obvious to the psychologist that Ichabod was threatened by him. He was likely threatened by anyone that he didn't know well. Thus, to get his patient to talk, he figured he should get someone non-threatening.

At first, he thought about calling Ichabod's wife, but then he wondered if that might be a bit much for Ichabod to take right then, having to admit to his wife that he'd been raped. Maybe it would be better for him to have a friend there, instead.

One of the nurses mentioned the boy that'd been sitting with Ichabod when he'd come in. He'd signed in as Jonathan Masbath Jr., and had left his cell phone number.

Even though it was early in the morning, the boy promised to come down to the hospital as soon as possible when he'd heard what had happened.

So, there he was, twenty minutes later, wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. It looked like he'd just rolled out of bed and thrown some clothes on to get there as quickly as he could.

"Where is he?" Masbath asked.

"He's in his room. In the corner. I was hoping that if he saw you, he might come out. Talk a bit. I've heard that you're rather close to him."

"I take care of him during the day while his wife is at work. I suppose you could say that we are friends, yes."

"Good. Alright, ready to go in?"

Masbath nodded and followed the doctor down the hall to Ichabod's room. The doctor knocked a few times before entering.

"Ichabod, I have your friend here. Masbath. Do you remember him?"

Ichabod was still in the corner. He glanced up at the doctor and his friend and nodded.

"He's here to help you."

Ichabod cast his gaze back down at his hands.

"Sir, I just want to help you," Masbath started, taking a step closer to Ichabod. "I'm not going to harm you at all."

Ichabod didn't shy away from him. That was a good sign.

Masbath took another step closer to him.

"Do you want to talk?"

Ichabod shook his head when suddenly, he began to feel tears stinging his eyes. For some reason, he was crying. He couldn't control it.

Masbath frowned and got down on his hands and knees. He crawled over towards Ichabod, and sat next to him. He looked at the constable, and, seeing him start to cry harder, opened his arms. It surprised the doctor how quickly Ichabod launched himself into Masbath's arms, hugging him. He rested his head on Masbath's shoulder and continued to cry.

For his part, Masbath held Ichabod firmly, gently rubbing his hands up and down the older man's back as he cried.

After a few moments, Ichabod finally spoke.

"God, Masbath... it was so terrible. You have no idea."


	2. Chapter 52

A/N: Thanks to Phish Tacko for beta'ing this! Go read her stuff!

Ch. 52

It was a Friday night, and Anthony was feeling decent for a change. He'd finished his work up a few hours prior, and now, he and Kelso were sitting on the deck, playing a game of poker. They had a lantern to help them see.

"Well, that's another win for me," Kelso said, laying out his cards. "You're lucky we're not playing for money."

"I'd win it all back. I'm just having a bad run."

"Bad run meaning you've lost all eight games that we've played? Face it, you're not good at poker."

"Well, maybe not..."

Anthony sat back, stretching a bit and yawning.

"Sorry about that, I'm a bit tired."

"No worries. And wow, I just noticed something."

"What's that?"

"You have awesome hair! And awesome skin, too."

"Uh... thanks?" Anthony said, raising an eyebrow.

"Not that I mean anything weird by that. Just that you don't seem to have a bad hair day."

Anthony nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. "That's the one good side to it, I guess. My skin and hair have never been better. I don't even need to condition it every day."

"Nice."

"Yeah, but the constant puking and cramps bite."

"I'm sure."

"Speaking of…" Anthony said under his breath. He was starting to feel sick.

Kelso quickly stood up, grabbed Anthony by the arm and pulled him towards the side of the ship. A second later, Anthony was sick. As he vomited, another couple of crew members walked by and began to laugh.

"Aww, is your little wifey sick?" One asked, causing the others to laugh more.

"Shut up. He's not my wife, and you should have some decency. If you were sick, you'd not want to be made fun of."

"Ugh," Anthony sighed. "Just... Let it be," He mumbled before getting sick again.

Kelso rolled his eyes but said nothing, watching as the two other men walked away.

"How far along are you, anyway?" Kelso asked, once Anthony had stopped throwing up.

"Only three months."

"Oh, man. So you've got another six months ahead?"

Anthony nodded. "Yes. But hopefully I'll be home soon, and my wife can take care of me."

"At least we'll have a break on land soon. I heard we're docking in Hong Kong on Thursday of next week."

"And thank goodness for that!" Anthony replied happily.

"You're that happy about it?"

"Hell yes. I've been craving Chinese food for weeks."

"You're funny."

"I'm serious. I need some Chinese food. Lots of it. Tons of it. We'll have to try out the restaurants there."

"Sure, whatever. I'm game."

"Good. And now… Fuck, I'm going to be sick again..." With that, Anthony leaned over and began to throw up once more.


	3. Chapter 53

A/N: Thanks to Phish Tacko for beta'ing this! Go read her stuff!

Ch. 53

"Well, you're definitely pregnant," Maryanne told Mort. She'd taken some blood from him and run the tests at work earlier in the morning.

Mort sighed. "I figured so. I've been throwing up all morning again."

"Now we have to figure out how far along you are, and what vitamins you need to start taking. I dropped off another blood sample for tests to see what you're deficient in. And of course, you need to get a physical done, and an ultrasound. And we need to tell your mom, too."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's tell her first, then take it from there, okay?" Mort asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

"That's fine. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just... its a lot, that's all. Do you want to go get her?"

"Sure." Maryanne forced a smile, and left the room. She returned soon with Heather.

"Where's Anakin?" Mort asked, not even bothering to say hi to her.

"He's taking a nap. What's going on, honey? Maryanne said it was important that I come to your room." Heather looked very concerned.

Mort rubbed his eyes with one hand. He was starting to get a headache just from the stress of everything.

Heather sat down on the edge of Mort's bed, and took his other hand. "You can tell me whatever you need to say."

Mort looked at Maryanne, then back at his mom.

"To make a long story short, we're expecting a baby. You're going to be a grandmother... again."

Heather's expression lit up when she heard this.

"That's… That's wonderful, Mort! Is it you that's pregnant? Or Maryanne?"

Mort raised his hand. "It's me."

Heather smiled, and gently patted Mort's stomach. "It makes sense, then, why you were getting so sick. This is really great. I'm so happy! Are you going to tell Anakin?"

"I don't think he'd understand it," Mort answered. "If he starts getting curious, I'll try to tell him."

Heather smiled. "That's fair. Wow. I'm really happy for you guys. You'd better let me know if you need anything special! I'm here for you both, you know."

"Thanks, mom," Mort said, blushing a bit.

Heather smiled again and nodded. "Anything for my boy."

From the other room, the three could hear Anakin start to cry.

"I'd better go check on him," Heather said, standing up.

"Okay. Thanks, mom."

"Of course."

As Heather left the room, Maryanne looked at Mort.

"Well, that was really easy. Your mom is awesome!"

"Yep, that was the simple part. The next eight months or so… that'll be the hard part."


	4. Chapter 54

A/N: Thanks to Phish Tacko for beta'ing this! Go read her stuff!

Ch. 54

Jack, Sweeney, Anthony, Ichabod, Sam and Gilbert were all approximately four months pregnant by now, and Mort was two months along.

Everyone felt that time was going by very fast, especially Gilbert. However, as his pregnancy progressed, he noticed that he was feeling some very odd symptoms.

First, he noticed that his feet and hands were always cold or numb, even if it was warm in the room. This had never happened before. Becky had suggested that maybe he had a problem with his circulation, and that perhaps he should go get it checked out.

Gilbert shrugged that off, though. He could deal with tingly feet and hands.

A few weeks later, Becky noted that he seemed to be drinking a lot of water, and seemed to be hungry all the time. She was used to him eating a lot occasionally, especially if he was upset, but it seemed almost constant now. It seemed like he was always, always drinking water, too.

It didn't take long for her to recognize the symptoms. Both her dad, and Gilbert's mother had had diabetes, and these were classic signs. Gilbert didn't want to hear it.

"Becky, there's nothing wrong with me," He said, filling up another glass of water. This was the fourth one she'd seen him drink in the past hour. "I'm just thirsty. You don't need to be concerned."

"Come on, just tell the doctor about it. He can test you. You have a family history, you know, and you're showing some of the signs. Don't you want our child to be healthy? Don't YOU want to be healthy?"

Gilbert was getting frustrated now. "I AM healthy, Becky. You're overreacting."

"I don't understand why you just won't mention it. What's the worst that can happen? You don't have it?"

Gilbert mumbled something in reply, but Becky didn't catch it.

"What was that?" She asked.

"I said that I have enough things on my mind as it is, I don't need some random disease to be concerned with too."

Becky sighed. "You're being selfish."

"I am not."

"Do you want to end up like your mom, or my dad? You know, dead?"

"My mom was… She had a lot of problems. She was morbidly obese, for fuck's sake."

"Yeah, well, if you keep eatin' the way you are, you might be like that in twenty years."

Gilbert looked horrified. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm sorry, that was harsh. I'm just saying that your family has the predisposition for being overweight and having diabetes and I don't want that to happen to you. You're young, so if you catch it now, they might be able to treat it."

Gilbert looked like he was going to cry. "Fine… I'll mention it when I go to my appointment later."

Becky felt horrible. The last thing that she wanted to do was hurt him, she just wanted to make sure he was healthy.

"I'm sorry Gilbert," She said sincerely. "I really didn't mean to hurt you."

Gilbert shook his head. "No, I know that lately I've not been… taking care of myself, for lack of better words."

"I just worry about you."

"Yeah. Don't, though. I'll ask later. I promise."

00

Gilbert showed up at the doctor's office a few hours later. He was tired and his hands were cold and numb and he was thirsty, so he carried a water bottle with him. Once again, as he was waiting, he saw Tom.

"Hey," Tom greeted him, walking over to talk.

"Oh, hey," Gilbert replied. He felt like crap, and didn't really feel like talking, but he didn't want to be rude to Tom either.

"Man, are you okay? You look kinda horrible," Tom said, looking Gilbert over.

"It's been a long morning. How are you? You must be what, six, seven months now?"

"Almost seven. It's hard to believe. I found out it's a girl though," He said, grinning.

Gilbert was surprised to see him so happy.

"A girl, eh? That'll keep your hands full!"

"Yeah, hopefully I'll be a good dad. I've been looking into places to go, too. Once, you know, I have the baby."

"Good idea. Any good prospects?"

"Well," Tom started, blushing a little. "Most likely I'll move in with my mom. Only until I can get a job, though. Get back on my feet."

"There's nothing wrong with that. You're young. Take any support you can get."

Tom nodded. "Not much of a choice, really. I can't go back to work. Not with… not with everything that happened."

Suddenly, the younger man looked very sad.

Gilbert patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, it'll be alright."

"I hope."

"It will be. It just takes time. Some wounds won't heal, but you'll be okay overall."

Right then, Dr. Schnabel popped his head out of the exam room. "Hey, Gilbert. I'm just finishing up with Sheldon here. You can come in in a moment."

"Okay."

Gilbert and Tom watched as a man wearing sunglasses and one of the most hideous outfits ever walked out. His shirt was a puke-green and he had on orange shorts. Gilbert briefly wondered where one would even get orange shorts from.

"Um, are you okay?" Gilbert asked, noticing that the man was touching the walls, trying not to fall over as he walked.

"Fine," The man replied angrily. "Just fine. Go on, keep staring at the blind guy."

"Um… Sorry?" Gilbert said, confused. He really had been just trying to be nice.

"Whatever."

"Don't worry about him," Schnabel said once Sheldon was out of earshot. "He just gets moody."

"Okay…"

"I'll see you later," Tom said. "Hope your exam goes well."

"Thanks."

Tom walked towards the common room while Gilbert went into the exam room. Dr. Schnabel closed the door behind them.

"So, how are you feeling this week?" He asked as Gilbert hopped up on the exam table.

"Not so good. I actually need to discuss something with you. My wife seems to think that I might have diabetes."

"I see," The doctor said, pulling his chart out. "And why is this?"

"I have some of the symptoms."

"Like…?"

"I'm thirsty a lot. All the time." He held up his water bottle to show the doctor. "Like, five or six glasses of water an hour. And my hands are cold, and numb. So are my feet. And they tingle sometimes. And I'm hungry all the time. And I have a family history of it. My mom… She had it really bad, but she was really big, too."

"Overweight, you mean?"

"Yes. It killed her, eventually."

The doctor nodded, scribbling down his notes. "Well, those all sound pretty accurate." He began thumbing through Gilbert's medical records until he came to Ashley's notes for the past few weeks. "It says here that you've gained a bit of weight over the past two months. About twelve pounds. That's a bit much."

Gilbert blushed. "Yeah, that's my fault, really. I was overdoing it a little when I got upset."

"Mm-hm. Everything else looks normal, though. How long have you been experiencing these problems?"

"About a month."

"Alright. I'm going to test your glucose levels. When's the last time you ate anything?"

"A few hours ago," Gilbert said, rolling up his sleeves.

"Okay, it should be accurate then."

The doctor opened a drawer and pulled out a small device. Gilbert recognized it as similar to the one that Becky's father had used before injecting himself with insulin. This one was smaller, though. When the doctor pricked him, he barely felt it.

"Hmm," Schnabel said, studying the number that came up. "It's not off the charts, but it definitely looks like you're at risk. We call that gestational diabetes. It's probably got something to do with your family history, and the fact that you're pregnant. That messes with your body a little bit."

Gilbert frowned. "So I have to go on insulin, then?"

"Not yet. You can likely reverse it to an extent, but you need to follow a very specific diet."

"Ugh," Gilbert sighed. "How bad is it?"

"I don't think you should think of it as bad so much as necessary. It's called the GI diet, you have to eat things that have a low glycemic index. Actually, I think I have a few printouts on it. Let me see…" The doctor began rifling around his papers, trying to find it. He finally found a black and white document on the bottom of the pile.

"Here we go." He handed it to Gilbert. "That explains it more. You'll need to follow it closely."

"I can eat spinach for breakfast?" Gilbert once again looked horrified. "Who eats spinach for breakfast?!"

"There are other options to choose from, that's just a suggestion."

"I won't lie, doctor, this really sucks."

Annoyed by Gilbert's attitude, the doctor snapped back. "Well there's no choice, unless you want to be dead within the next year."

Gilbert frowned, knowing he would not win this one.

"Whatever," He finally said, crumpling the document and putting it into his pocket. "I'll start tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 55

A/N: Thanks to Phish Tacko for beta'ing this! Go read her stuff!

Ch. 55

The ship had docked in Chongqing earlier in the day, and Anthony and Kelso had made good on their mission to find awesome authentic Chinese food. Now they were walking the streets, trying to find something to do.

"There's an internet cafe over there," Kelso pointed out. "We could go play some video games and check our email."

"Hmm. I should email Johanna and Mr. Todd," Anthony replied. "And I'm kinda tired of walking anyway. Swollen ankles and all."

Kelso snorted. "Nice. Remind me to never get pregnant."

"Aw, it's not THAT bad. I mean, my hair is awesome, like you've said."

"That it is. Okay, come on, let's go."

Kelso led the way across the street to the cafe. They went inside to find it mostly empty. The man running the cafe welcomed them in, and led them to two computers.

While Kelso logged in to his World of Warcraft account, Anthony first logged in to Twitter. There were some older posts from Johanna, and a new one from Jamie Campbell Bower. Anthony was surprised by what he saw.

"Kelso, I think Jamie Campbell Bower is pregnant."

"Jamie Campbell Who?"

"Jamie Campbell Bower. He just posted something on Twitter."

"Okay."

"'Is swollen feet a symptom of pregnancy?'" Anthony read off. "Wow, just like what I have! I'm gonna reply."

"Heh. You do that."

Anthony nodded, and began typing out a message. "'Yes, I have that too. It'll go away in time."

After sending it, Anthony turned back to Kelso. "Maybe he'll reply."

"Maybe. You never know."

"Now to write to Johanna."

"Why are you saying all of this out loud?"

Anthony shrugged. "Why not?"

"It's just weird."

"I'm weird."

"I know."

Anthony smiled and turned back to the computer. He began an email to Johanna, telling her where he was, all about the awesome the Chicken Mai Fun was in Chongqing, and how he missed her. He also sent an update about how he was feeling.

After he clicked 'send', he caught sight of a new email in his inbox. It was a notice from Twitter.

"Kelso!"

"What?"

"He replied to me." Anthony clicked on it. It was a private message, and all it said was, 'How far along are you?'

Anthony started typing his reply, amazed that he'd gotten any answer at all.


	6. Chapter 56

A/N: Thanks to Phish Tacko for beta'ing this! Go read her stuff!

Ch. 56

In Underland, Tarrant and Alice were preparing for a day at the lake. Harvey owned a house right on the beach, and had invited them to take Daisy and join him and Mirana for a day. Tarrant hadn't wanted to go, but Alice talked him into it, saying that a day of relaxation might help him feel better. It seemed that as time went on, Tarrant's symptoms had gotten worse and weirder. Recently he seemed completely unable to sleep, for instance.

"We're going to be late!" Alice said, somewhat annoyed. Tarrant was still in their bedroom, getting dressed.

"I'll be out in a minute!" Tarrant replied. He was trying to find a set of shorts that looked decent, but he didn't like how he looked in anything. He really didn't want to do this, but Alice seemed really gung-ho about it. Sighing, he decided to just keep a shirt on for the day. He didn't want anyone to see his body, especially since he was already starting to show.

Finally, he came out of the bedroom. Alice was already dressed, wearing a blue sundress with a dark blue bathing suit under it, and she'd dressed Daisy in a little yellow frock that Tarrant had made for her, along with a pink bathing suit.

"Ready?" She asked, looking him over. "Aren't you going to wear something to swim in?"

Tarrant shrugged, but didn't reply. He didn't really feel like going over his issues right then. Alice would just try to convince him that he was handsome and he had no reason to be ashamed of himself.

"Alright. Well, I have the sunscreen, so let's go. They're all likely there by now."

00

It was a fairly short walk to Harvey's property, and as Alice had predicted, everyone was already there. They were waiting on the beach, having set up some beach umbrellas and laid out some blankets and towels.

"Tarrant, Alice! So glad you made it!" Mirana said, coming over to greet them. She wore a flowing, modest white sundress on top of a lavender bathing suit.

Harvey smiled and waved from his spot on the sand. Meanwhile, Carlie was busy laying out her own towel.

"It's nice to see you too, Mirana," Alice said, giving her a hug.

"The sand's red," Tarrant pointed out. Its color sort of gave him a headache, but he decided not to complain.

"Yes, it is. And the water's purple, and clear as crystal. Gorgeous, isn't it?"

"It's... interesting."

"Come on over!" Carlie called out.

Tarrant and Alice walked over and greeted Carlie as well.

"Here, I bought some extra blankets for you," She said, taking them out of her bag.

"Oh... Thank you. We had to rush out a bit," Alice explained, looking around. "It really is beautiful here." She looked at Harvey, "You really do have a wonderful beach."

"Thanks! I've been here for a while. Mirana loves it here, right?" He asked, taking Mirana by the hand and pulling her close to him. He wrapped an arm around her.

"Absolutely," She replied, smiling at Harvey.

"Well, I would like to get into the water," Alice said.

"As would I!" Carlie agreed.

Alice handed Daisy to Tarrant, giving him instructions to take the baby's sundress off.

Once Alice and Carlie were ready, Alice took Daisy back. "Aren't you guys going to go in?"

Harvey and Mirana were sitting under their umbrella.

"I think we'll relax here for a bit," Mirana answered.

"I think I'll stay here too," Tarrant added, walking over to the couple.

"You should go for a swim," Mirana said. "You'd enjoy it and it'd probably relieve some of the pains I'm sure you have... being pregnant and all."

Tarrant cringed. He wondered if it was that noticeable already? Sure, Mirana and Harvey knew about it, but still, to bring it up... His thoughts then turned to the water itself. He'd never been in a purple lake before. It made him a bit nervous.

He was about to reply when Harvey spoke up. "The water's fine, Tarrant. It's clean and

safe. I go in myself all the time."

"I... Alright," Tarrant replied, feeling a little defeated. Obviously, the group was going to force him to swim, even if he didn't really want to. He started slowly walking towards the edge of the water, resigned to getting in. Thankfully, no one commented on him keeping his shirt on. He stepped in, and, feeling how warm and comfortable it was, he instantly felt a bit better about it.

"This isn't so bad," He commented, walking in a little further. If it was like this, he could definitely enjoy it.

He'd gotten about waist deep when he heard Alice's voice.

"Tarrant!" She called, getting his attention. "Sorry, but you need to get out!"

"What? Why?" He asked, annoyed. Everyone was staring now, too.

"Well I have to apply your sunscreen, you don't want to burn your face again, now do you?"

Gritting his teeth, Tarrant quietly made his way back out of the water, and sat there silently as

Alice coated him with 120 SPF sunblock.


	7. Chapter 57

A/N: Thanks to Phish Tacko for beta'ing this! Go read her stuff!

Ch. 57

Mort had finally started feeling better. It'd been a long couple of months, but he was back on his feet. Maryanne had moved in with him, Heather and Anakin, intending to help care for Mort and their child when he or she was born.

Today was going to be a stressful day, though. Today, Mort and Maryanne were going to take Anakin to a psychologist to have him tested for Autism. Maryanne had first noticed the little boy's tendencies to rock back and forth and focus on particular things while blocking everything else out. When she'd mentioned the symptoms to Mort, he'd eventually told her that he himself had been diagnosed with Autism when he was younger. This didn't surprise Maryanne, much. She had noticed that Mort displayed similar tendencies as Anakin did from time to time.

Maryanne held Anakin as the three waited for the doctor. Being as stressed as he was, Mort was pacing around, occasionally stopping from time to time to tell her about how much his feet hurt or how tired he was. Maryanne figured that these problems were likely just the result of Mort being nervous more so than feeling the pregnancy.

"Calm down!" Maryanne finally told him after he'd paced around the room for the fifteenth time.

"It's going to be fine."

"What if he's like me? Do you know how much I got picked on for being the weird kid?!"

Maryanne sighed. "If he ends up being autistic, then we'll be there for him. And besides, it's probably a mild case… You worrying like this isn't helping matters much. We have to take it as it comes."

Mort considered this for a moment. "I guess you're right."

"I know I'm right."

Feeling a little bit better, Mort finally sat down and waited patiently.


	8. Chapter 58

Thank you to Phish Tacko for all of her help with this!

Ch. 58

Since the incident at the supermarket, there'd been no end to the panic attacks that he'd been having. Both Joon and Sam's boss had suggested that he take off of work for the rest of his pregnancy and, being home all day with nothing to do besides play with the kids when they weren't sleeping, caused him to overthink everything and become very nervous.

Joon had been trying her best to get him to calm down when she was around, but it didn't help much. The anxiety had started keeping Sam up at night too, so besides being extremely stressed, he was also very tired.

This particular night marked the third one in a row where Sam was unable to get any sleep. After tossing and turning for several hours, he finally got out of bed and wandered out to the living room, hoping that maybe watching some television would help.

A few minutes into one of the shows, Sam heard footsteps. He looked up to see Edward.

"Oh, hey," Sam greeted him. "What're you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep either and heard the television." Edward walked over and took a seat on the couch next to Sam.

"Ah. Why can't you sleep?"

Edward shrugged. "Just can't. Sometimes it's hard. I think a lot."

"Same here, buddy. It's like I can't turn my mind off."

"Yes… It seems like you've been stressed a lot lately."

"It's that noticeable?" Sam asked. "I mean, you're never home, and you can tell?"

"Well… You look tired, and you don't eat with us anymore, so I figured something was bothering you."

Sam frowned. "I guess I do sort of look terrible. I haven't slept in almost three days. I keep having these anxiety attacks, and it feels like the walls are closing in on me and I'm two inches tall and I can't stop it. Half the time, I'm fighting the urge to hide under the bed from the rest of the world."

"What are you afraid of?" Edward looked truly concerned.

"That's just it! I don't know! Ever since the blackout, it's been getting worse and worse! I keep thinking about having another baby, another person to feed, about Joon, and I worry about you, if people are bothering you at school, and about Gilbert – you know he's almost got diabetes?

What if he dies? What if something happens to any of you? What if –"

"Wait," Edward interrupted him. "Calm down. Take a deep breath."

Sam nodded and inhaled deeply, letting it out slowly.

"Good. You don't have to worry about me. Even if people pick on me, I've learned to ignore it."

"Okay."

"And you guys still have some money saved, right? So you'll be able to deal with the bills for the new baby for a while before you have to go back to work."

"True…"

"And Gilbert's smart, he can take care of himself. He's also young and strong, and if he has a problem, I'm sure that the doctor will help him. A lot of people live with diabetes. My creator… or, father, I guess, had it too."

"Really?"

"Yes, and he died of old age, not from the disease."

"Oh…"

"No one is going to die any time soon."

"How can you know that? You could walk outside and get hit by a bus five minutes from now!" Sam protested. "Come on, be realistic!"

"Okay, yes, that could happen, but it's unlikely. You're panicking for no reason and it's a worse threat to you than the possibility of one of us getting hit by a bus."

Sam looked confused. "I don't understand."

"If you don't eat and sleep how are you going to be able to take care of your daughter? And your unborn child?"

"That's a good point," Sam admitted. "If I'm not strong for me, then I should be strong for them."

"Yes. Exactly."

"But that's a lot easier said than done."

"I know, but you have to start trying. Joon and I are both here for you, and I'm sure Gilbert would be."

"I didn't really consider that. I guess I'm not in it alone."

"You're not."

It was quiet for a few minutes, as Sam let everything Edward had told him sink in. It all made sense.

"For someone who doesn't talk much, you just said a lot of really good advice."

Edward smiled. "I try."

Then, for the first time in three days, Sam actually began to feel tired. He yawned.

"Wow… now I want to sleep," He said, rubbing his eyes. He stood up and began walking towards the bedroom.

"Thanks, Edward. You're a good friend."


	9. Chapter 59

Thank you to Phish Tacko for all of her help with this!

Ch. 59

Sweeney was in the hospital for three hours before the doctors were finally confident that he was fine and that his unborn child was fine. Though Sweeney knew that it was for the best, he still hated being in the hospital, all alone except for Emma.

The hospital had contacted Mrs. Lovett upon Sweeney's request, and she brought Johanna with her when she went to pick him up. Considering how minor the accident seemed, both women were surprised by how upset Sweeney was. He was paler than usual and seemed very shaky. On top of that, it was clear that he had been crying recently.

As they walked out, Johanna took Emma and Mrs. Lovett wrapped an arm around Sweeney to help support him. He leaned on her heavily. Even though he wasn't injured, he'd been shocked and scared enough to where he seemed to have problems walking straight.

When they got to Mrs. Lovett's car, she helped him sit in the back seat, buckling his seat belt for him. Sweeney didn't fight her assistance at all. He didn't have the energy for that.

When they were about a mile up the road, Mrs. Lovett spoke up.

"Is there anything we can do for ya, Mr. T? Do you want some coffee, or tea, or food, or anything?"

Sweeney shook his head 'no'. "I just want to go home."

"Alright. We'll go get your car tomorrow, then."

Sweeney nodded in agreement, but didn't verbally reply.

After arriving back at the shop, Johanna helped bring Emma up to Sweeney's room while Mrs. Lovett helped him up the stairs.

Seeing as how her father was still acting very strangely, Johanna insisted that he let her stay the evening. At first, he refused.

"I'm fine, Johanna. The doctors said so themselves. You don't need to stay here."

"But dad, you're obviously still in shock, or you're tired or something, because you're acting weird. Let me stay and help with Emma. I don't have work tomorrow, so it's not a big deal."

After going back and forth for a while, Sweeney finally relented. He could use some help with Emma, anyway.

Eventually, Johanna fell asleep on the couch, after putting Emma to bed. Only then did Sweeney feel safe to crawl into his own bed and let himself cry.


	10. Chapter 60

A/N: Thanks to Phish Tacko for beta'ing this! Go read her stuff!

Ch. 60

Jack really did not want to go back to see Dr. Schnabel. He knew that he'd likely made the man angry the last time he was there. But right now, he had bigger issues to deal with. All morning, he'd been having crippling morning sickness. He'd thrown up everything he had in his stomach and then it still didn't stop. Currently, Angelica was holding his hair back as he threw up again, this time stomach acid.

"You have to go to the doctor," Angelica said. "This isn't normal."

"It's just morning sickness..." Jack replied in between heaves. "It'll stop soon..."

"You don't get this sick usually. I think you have a stomach virus."

Jack wasn't paying attention, though. He was too busy trying to ignore the horrible burning feeling that occurred as the bile in his stomach made its way up his throat.

"Ugh… Make it stop..." He moaned, resting his head on the seat.

"Come on. If you're not going to go to the doctor, then you're at least going to bed." Angelica reached under Jack's arms and pulled him up, somehow managing to balance Jack and flush before leaving. She dragged him to the bedroom and sat him down on their bed.

"Go lie down, and I'm going to get you some Gatorade. You're getting dehydrated."

Jack sighed and crawled under the blankets. "Go away... let me sleep. Can't I just have morning sickness in peace?"

"Well, I don't have to help you. You're more than welcome to go get your own Gatorade and hold your own hair back while you puke."

"Ugh. I feel terrible," Jack groaned.

Angelica felt a little remorse for snapping at him. He probably really was sick, even if he didn't want to admit it.

"Just... go to sleep, Jack."

"Sleep..." Jack repeated, burrowing deeper into the blankets.

00

Angelica had gone off to take care of Angela, and so she didn't hear Jack yell a few moments later.

Well, it was more of a scream followed by a loud thud as Jack fainted while trying to run to the bathroom.

Will had heard it, though, and came rushing in. He found Jack lying on the floor, face down, with a blanket around him.

"Jack! Jack, wake up!" He said, slapping the pirate's face.

Jack didn't move. Will could see he was breathing, though, so he slapped Jack again.

"JACK. Wake up!"

Nothing.

Sighing, Will resigned himself to the fact that he'd have to carry Jack to his car and take him to the doctor. Angelica had mentioned earlier that she wanted to keep Angela away from Jack, lest the baby get sick, so he really had no choice. Obviously, Jack needed medical attention.

He sighed again, picked Jack up, and began to carry him bridal style up to the deck without even bothering to stop and put shoes on. On the way, he passed Elizabeth.

"Will? Why are you carrying Jack? And where are your shoes?"

"I have to take him to his doctor. He fainted. Tell Angelica, will you?"

"Uh, sure," Elizabeth replied, raising an eyebrow as she watched Will sprint barefoot towards his car, still carrying the pirate.

Will managed to get Jack sitting up in the front seat and buckled in. He switched his phone on and typed in Dr. Schnabel's name. It didn't take long for him to get the address of the shelter. He drove there as fast as he could, and looked over at Jack whenever he got to a stop light. He noticed that now, Jack's chin was forward, resting on his chest, and that there was vomit on his shirt. He was still getting sick even though he was unconscious. Seeing this, Will drove even faster. He made it to the shelter in record time.

00

Meanwhile, back on the ship, Angelica and Elizabeth were sitting in Jack's cabin with a game of Candy Land spread out in front of them. Elizabeth had said that Will was driving Jack to the shelter, and Angelica had nodded and put a sleeping Angela to bed.

"Ugh… I have to pee."

Elizabeth glanced up at her.

"Go pee."

"But what if aliens get me?"

"Oh, that's what the samurai sword is for."

"Samurai sword?"

"Yeah, it's hanging up on the wall outside the bathroom."

Angelica glanced toward the door, then over to the desk against the northern wall. Something silver caught her eye.

"But Orcrist is right there."

Elizabeth looked where Angelica was pointing.

"…Angelica, that's a cheap replica you bought when you went and saw the last Hobbit movie with Jack." Elizabeth watched her get up and take the fake sword off the desk. She held it up in front of her and it glinted in the sunlight that filtered through the window.

"You underestimate the company of Thorin Oakenshield." Angelica grinned, held the sword up in front of her à la Aragorn and walked out of the room with her head held high.

"…Nerd."

00

Once there, Will parked the car and carried Jack inside. He walked in to see several people sitting in the common room, watching television. Assuming that they were the newer residents of the shelter, he asked for help.

"Do any of you know where the doctor here is?"

"Dr. Schnabel? He's in his office, most likely," One of them answered. Will noticed that he looked very similar to Jack, but younger and paler. If it hadn't been an emergency situation, he probably would've been a bit weirded out by it.

"My friend here is a patient of his, and he's passed out, and he needs help," Will explained.

The young man he'd noticed stood up. "I'll go get him then."

"Thanks."

Within a minute or so, an older man stepped out of the hallway, followed by the young man who had gone to get him.

"I'm Dr. Schnabel," The older man said. "What can I help you with- Oh, I see. Jack is sick… Quickly, follow me to the exam room."

The doctor led Will down the hall until they came to a door on the right.

"In there," The doctor explained, pushing the door open. "Put him on the bed."

Will did as he was told and laid Jack down so the doctor could look him over.

The first thing the doctor did was check Jack's pulse.

"Well, he's still alive. What happened?"

"He was sick this morning… very sick. He was throwing up all morning. Then later on, I heard him scream and fall, so I brought him here."

"I see." The doctor reached into one of the nearby drawers and pulled out a thermometer. He stuck it in Jack's ear, and checked it when it beeped. "He's got a 101 degree fever. It's most likely a stomach virus, but we have to be careful because he's pregnant. We'll hook him up to an IV and give him some anti-nausea medication that's safe for the babies, then wait until he wakes up. You might want to call Angelica and let her know where you are if she doesn't know."

"I'll call her," Will replied.

"Good. And, just as a word of warning, your friend is going to be very weak for a while until he recovers, so he'll probably need a lot of help."

"Alright," Will said. "We'll figure something out."


	11. Chapter 61

A/N: Thank you to Phish Tacko for all her help with this!

Ch. 61

Ichabod had ended up telling Masbath everything. After that, of course, he'd been given an exam.

That in itself was painful. Ichabod had cried the entire time the doctors were examining him. He felt like he was being violated all over again, and had it not been for the fact that he was pregnant, he probably would've run out of the room.

Physically, he'd been left with a few bruises and tears. That's where the blood had come from. His rapist had literally managed to tear him up inside.

Ichabod's mental health was another issue, though. After the doctors had cleaned and stitched him up, they'd found him in the bathroom, sitting in the shower, scrubbing at himself furiously.

The water was scalding hot, and it looked like he'd been there for quite awhile, judging by how red his skin was. He'd only left because they'd dragged him out.

The doctors has suggested that he remain hospitalized for a longer period, especially after they'd noticed that he was having anxiety attacks. The doctors had gone so far as to place him under an involuntary psychiatric hold because they felt that he presented a threat to himself. That only lasted for three days, though. They couldn't hold him any longer than that, and as soon as those days were up, Ichabod promptly signed himself out and had Masbath drive him home.

Now, even though they were back into a somewhat normal routine, Masbath noticed that Ichabod was still acting strange. He'd flinch if someone so much as brushed up against him, even if it was Masbath or Katrina. A few times he'd found Ichabod having strange episodes, too. He would zone out, then crawl into a corner and sit there, rocking back and forth quietly for hours on end. The episodes were random, too. Masbath could never really tell what exactly set Ichabod off. All he knew was that once they started, it was nearly impossible to snap Ichabod out of them. Usually, it required dragging him from the corner and back to bed.

Besides all that, Ichabod had stopped combing his hair and generally taking care of himself. He still changed his clothes, but that was about all he did. The times that Masbath had gotten him to bathe, he'd find Ichabod once again sitting in the bath tub, curled up and scrubbing himself just like he'd done in the hospital. Because of that, Masbath had to be careful. He wouldn't let Ichabod go more than two days without showering, but he didn't make him do it any more frequently because of how much Ichabod would tear himself up once he was inside.

Between Ichabod and Jackson, Masbath was always running around. It seemed like taking care of the toddler was actually the easier of the jobs. At least Jackson was more compliant. He could pick the kid up and put him to bed if he had to, and Jackson generally followed directions anyway. With Ichabod, it took all of Masbath's strength to get him to do basic tasks. Dragging a fully grown man around wasn't particularly easy.

A week after the incident, Ichabod had still not told Katrina what had happened. She had a good idea of what had occurred, but he wouldn't verify it. All in all he generally ignored her. Not that it really mattered that much to Katrina. It just meant more personal time for her.

After two weeks, Masbath had had enough. It'd been a very rough morning. Jackson was sick, so he required a lot of attention, and Ichabod was once again refusing to move from the corner. Since the older man hadn't eaten since the previous afternoon, Masbath had to once again drag him out, and then physically place him at the kitchen table. He placed a bowl of oatmeal in front of Ichabod, and instructed him to eat it.

And of course, Ichabod refused. Over the course of the two weeks he'd been home, he'd been eating less and less, making Masbath's job all the more difficult.

"Ichabod, eat the oatmeal," Masbath said, trying to keep his tone light.

"I'm not hungry," Ichabod mumbled, pushing the bowl away.

Masbath sighed. "You haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. Katrina told me you wouldn't eat dinner. If you want your child to be healthy, you have to eat."

Ichabod shook his head 'no' in reply.

"Then you're going to go take a shower now. It'd been two days again. Either you can eat your breakfast or take a shower."

It was then that Masbath noticed that Ichabod's gaze was drifting towards the corner of the room. He knew what was coming next, and he was right. Within seconds, Ichabod was out of his chair and in the corner, rocking again.

"That's it," Masbath said. He walked over towards where Ichabod was, and stood in front of him.

"Get up!" He demanded. "Get up and sit back in the chair. I'm getting so tired of this shit. You're a grown man, for God's sake!"

Seeing the terrified look on Ichabod's face, Masbath forced himself to lower his voice.

"Look," He continued. "I understand that what happened to you was horrible, and that it's traumatized you, but you're not doing yourself, Jackson, or your unborn child any good by allowing it to eat you up. Are you going to just sit in the corner and rock back and forth for the rest of your life? Am I going to have to be here in ten years to force you to eat and bathe? Is that what you want?!"

Ichabod's jaw dropped, and tears began to fill his eyes.

"Oh, stop it. Stop crying."

Ichabod seemed scared again, and he began frantically trying to wipe his tears away.

Sighing again, Masbath walked towards the table, picked up a few napkins and threw them at Ichabod.

"Dry your eyes. I'm not trying to hurt you, but you have to realize that this isn't healthy."

In the other room, the baby began crying.

"I have to go take care of Jackson now. I expect you to be either eating, or in the shower by the time I'm done."

Ichabod watched as Masbath walked out of the room. He felt scared and hurt, but at the same time, he wondered if maybe Masbath was right.


	12. Chapter 62

A/N: Thank you to Phish Tacko for all her help with this! Also, be warned, this chapter deals with a miscarriage and may upset some people.

Ch. 62

Mort was officially three months pregnant. He had been feeling a little better lately, even though there'd been some recent stresses. For instance, Anakin had been diagnosed as being mildly autistic. Mort and Maryanne were not surprised, but not happy about it either. Still, they'd been working on figuring out what to do for the little boy.

Tonight, though, they were going out to have some fun. It'd been far too long since the two had gone out by themselves, and Heather had offered to watch Anakin for the evening so that the couple could have a good time. Being the nerds that they were, they decided to go see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on its opening night.

And, of course, being nerds, the night was not complete without both of them dressing up for the occasion. Mort was dressed as a hobbit, and Maryanne as an elf. They had created the costumes themselves (or, in Mort's case, scavenged for components in his closet). The couple even went so far as to wear the costumes to the restaurant they went to for a late dinner. They got a couple of odd looks from people, but overall it started as a nice, romantic evening.

About halfway through dinner, Maryanne noticed that Mort wasn't eating much, and seemed to be very quiet.

"What's on your mind?" She asked.

"Me? Oh, nothing." The writer continued to play with his food.

"You seem out of it."

Mort sighed. "I guess I'm not really feeling well. I didn't want to ruin the night, though."

"Ohh. What's bothering you?"

"Just… My stomach hurts a little. Like…" Mort looked around, making sure that no one was watching or could hear him. "Like really bad cramps."

Maryanne nodded in understanding. "We can go home if you like. I won't be upset. We can see the movie another day."

Mort shook his head, "No, no. I paid for the tickets already, and it's not THAT bad. It's just uncomfortable. I'll pop a couple of Advils and I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Alright, if you say so," Maryanne replied. "I just don't want you to get worse."

"I'll be fine. Really."

00

By the end of the movie, Mort was definitely not feeling fine anymore. His stomach hurt terribly, like as if he were getting the worst cramps of his life. Just walking to the car to get home was a challenge, and Maryanne had ended up having to drive them back.

As soon as they pulled into the driveway, Mort got out of the car.

"I need to go to the bathroom," He said, hurrying inside.

Maryanne followed behind, hearing the bathroom door slam shut as she walked into the house.

Inside the bathroom, Mort had started crying. He had never, ever felt this sick before, even when he'd actually been sick. It was then that he felt something shift in his body. It felt like something was coming out of him. He briefly wondered if one of his organs was detaching, or something to that effect, but it didn't quite feel that way. Then it hit him. Something was probably wrong with the baby.

Thinking this, Mort began to hyperventilate. Then came a knock on the bathroom door.

"Mort? Honey, are you okay? Maryanne said you were sick."

It was his mother.

"I'm not okay," Mort said softly. He groaned as another wave of pain hit him. Then, as quickly as it came, it was gone. He actually felt a little better, until he looked down and saw that there was blood spreading between his legs.

"Honey, let me come in," Heather said, pushing the door open slightly.

She walked in to see Mort pale, sweating, and bleeding.

"Mom, I think something's wrong…"

Heather's eyes got wide when she saw the blood, and it took all of her strength not to panic.

"I… I'm going to call your doctor," Heather said, pulling her cell phone out. Her hands shook as she dialed the number of the doctor that Maryanne had referred him to. Since it was very early in the morning, she got the office's answering service.

"Hi, I'm having an emergency and need to speak with Dr. Carlson."

"Are you a patient of his?" The nasal, annoying voice on the other end of the line asked.

"My son is. He's… He's bleeding. I really need to speak to the doctor."

"Ma'am, it's three am. Can you go to a hospital instead?"

Now Heather was getting angry.

"NO, I CANNOT TAKE HIM TO THE HOSPITAL. MY SON IS THREE MONTHS PREGNANT. HE NEEDS TO TALK TO HIS DOCTOR, SINCE HIS DOCTOR KNOWS HIS CASE."

"Okay, okay!" The voice replied. "I'll transfer your call through to Dr. Carlson's house."

After several rings, a tired-sounding voice answered the phone.

"Hello?" The doctor asked.

"Hi, Dr. Carlson, this is Heather Rainey – Mort Rainey's mother. My son's having a problem. He's bleeding… down there… and I think… I think he needs to see you." She glanced up at Mort, who was gripping the counter to stay standing.

"Can I talk to him?" The doctor asked.

Maryanne handed Mort the phone.

"Talk to the doctor, sweetheart," She said.

"H-hi," Mort said, the fear obvious in his voice.

"Hi, Mort. Tell me what happened."

"My stomach hurt on a-and o-off all night, then I felt like I had to go to the bathroom, and I felt l-like something came out of me, and now there's blood…" He trailed off.

"Okay, Mort. I'm going to drive to my office, and you need to meet me there in ten minutes."

"O-okay," Mort stammered.

"Get going now," The doctor said.

Mort nodded to himself and hung up.

"Mom, can you take me to the doctor?" He asked.

00

Heather and Mort arrived at the office in less than ten minutes, with Maryanne remaining home with Anakin. Heather slowly led Mort inside. The doctor met them there shortly afterward, and helped Mort into an exam room.

"Alright, Mort. This is going to be difficult, but I need you to undress, and we're going to see what happened."

Slowly, Mort began to take his clothes off. There was blood all over his legs, dripping down to his knees and ankles. Just seeing it made him feel sick.

"Okay. You need to undress completely."

"I can't," Mort said, tears falling down his face once again. "I can't..."

He knew what might be there, and he didn't want to see it.

"I'll be straight with you, Mort," The doctor said. "It's likely you've had a miscarriage. We need to look and see what's going on."

Mort's hands shook as he undressed completely. Just one look told the doctor all he needed to know.

"I'm sorry, Mort. It looks like I was correct. We'll have to perform a D&amp;C."

Mort just nodded, feeling rather numb, now. He'd lost his baby. He wondered if anything he'd done had contributed to this. It had to be his fault in some way, just had to be.

00

Mort didn't get back home until closer to dawn. His body hurt and he was too tired to think clearly. The only thing that he could even focus on, besides the physical pain, were the words that the doctor had spoken to him earlier.

"Your body just wasn't strong enough to handle the pregnancy."

He hadn't gone into much more detail other than that, but still the words played over in Mort's mind.

What if he'd taken better care of himself? Would that have helped? He'd killed his child. Somehow, that thought was much worse than the thought of killing his ex-wife and her lover.

He said nothing as Heather helped him out of the car and helped him to walk inside the house. Maryanne was waiting for them in the kitchen. She stood up and rushed over to Mort as soon as she saw him.

"How'd it go…?" She asked, though she could tell by Mort's expression that it wasn't good.

"Its… It's gone…" He replied.

Maryanne could see that Mort's hands were trembling. She wrapped her arms around him, embracing him in a hug .

"I'm so sorry," She whispered as she rubbed his back. "I'm so sorry, honey. It'll be okay though…"

Mort didn't say anything or move. He just stood there.

"Mort needs to rest," Heather said. "He needs to lie down."

"Of course." Maryanne stepped aside and watched as Heather led Mort into the bedroom.

00

Mort lay in bed all morning, unwilling to do more than stare at the wall. He hadn't slept at all, even though he was very, very tired. Every time he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, his body pulled him out of it, forcing him to stay awake and think.

He was still wearing the same bloody clothing that he'd had on the night before. Maryanne had come in a few times, and urged him to change out of them, but he hadn't. He didn't really have any reason for it other than that he just didn't want to. He didn't want to do much of anything.

Finally, around midday, Heather had come in and forced him to get up and take a bath. He was still covered in blood, and it wouldn't be good for Anakin to see him that way.

Mort pushed himself out of bed, and slowly walked over to the bathroom. He turned on the hot water, then began to undress himself. As he took off his shirt and pants, he briefly touched his stomach, and realized that it was now perfectly flat. Just twenty four hours prior, he'd been able to see and feel a small bump there. It hadn't been that noticeable, but he and Maryanne had known it was there. Now it was gone. For a second he felt somewhat angry that his body had changed so quickly, that it'd forgotten about the baby he'd had inside of him in less than a day, but he brushed those thoughts away. They didn't really make sense, anyway. He just needed something to be angry at besides his own actions.

Slowly, Mort slid into the water, noticing that it immediately turned reddish as the dried blood on his legs washed off. The warmth of it felt good, it relaxed him slightly, and he leaned back to submerge his entire body.

He laid there for a few moments, and then began to wash himself off more thoroughly. A lot of his body was still sore, so he very gently washed, cursing under his breath if he touched too hard anywhere. When he was finally done, the water was cloudy and dark. He must've been bleeding a lot more than he'd realized. Mort unplugged the drain, and pushed himself back up, then grabbed a towel. Once he was dry, he quickly dressed in his favorite pair of pajamas and went back to the bed, intent on staring at the wall for a while longer.


	13. Chapter 63

A/N: Thank you to Phish Tacko for all her help with this!

Ch. 63

Sweeney had just gotten back from another visit with his mother. Instead of meeting at her apartment, they'd gone for breakfast at a local restaurant. She'd promised that she'd start cleaning her place out soon, and Sweeney was happy about that. He wasn't so happy that she continued to smoke throughout the meal, however.

"Mum," He said, watching as Edna lit her third Newport. "You should really stop smoking."

"I know, baby. One day I will."

"If you don't stop smoking, I'm going to start." Sweeney grabbed her pack of cigarettes and pulled one out, as if to demonstrate that he was serious.

"You have got to be kidding," Edna replied, eyes wide. "You're pregnant! You can't be smoking!"

"You smoked when you were pregnant with me and did a bunch of drugs."

"That… those were different times! We didn't know that smoking did all the things that we do now. Do you think I'd have started if I knew it'd give me cancer?!" She held her hand out, expecting Sweeney to give her the pack of cigarettes back.

He didn't, though. "If you loved me and your grandchildren, you'd stop smoking."

The look on his mom's face went from confusion to anger.

"How dare you say that to me?!" She stood up and pushed her plate away. "How dare you tell me that I don't love you? Do you know how much I gave up to raise you?! Do you have any idea?!"

Sweeney was surprised by this. "I just meant… I don't want you to get sick and—"

"You're old enough to know how to keep your mouth shut and this is one of those times when you should have. I gave up everything for you. My life was over when you were born! And did I ever complain? No. I worked and made sure that you had the things you needed, and sure, maybe I did a few bad things now and then, but I sure as hell love you. If I didn't love you, I'd have dropped you off in front of the catholic church and let the sisters raise you! Now… Give me back my cigarettes, you ungrateful ass!"

Sweeney reluctantly gave her back the cigarettes.

"I'm sorry, mum…" He said softly. He really hadn't meant to offend her so much.

She shook her head 'no'. "I have to go. I'll be in contact with you later but for now I need some time."

"Okay…"

Sweeney watched as his mother took a puff from her cigarette, then began to walk away.

So, here he was now, back at his little apartment, alone with Emma. Mrs. Lovett had watched the girl all morning, but had handed her back off to Sweeney as soon as he'd arrived, citing the need to get ready for the lunch rush.

Sweeney felt like he wanted to cry. The baby was being fussy, and he was tired, and he was upset at the incident that had occurred earlier. He didn't want his mother to hate him, he just didn't want her to get sick and die before her grandchildren could get to know her.

As he rocked Emma to try to calm her down, a tear fell from his eye and slid down his cheek. He wiped it away, but couldn't stop himself from crying even harder after that.

00

An hour later, Emma had finally fallen asleep, and Sweeney was feeling slightly better. He'd cried by himself for a while, and it'd felt good to let it all out. Now, he was cleaning the place up a bit and sharpening his razors. Just as he finished the second one, there was a knock at the door.

"Hello?" He called, looking at the door. "I'm closed today."

He heard the person on the other side sigh. Then the doorknob began to turn. Sweeney wanted to kick himself for not locking up. A second later, Judge Turpin walked in, followed by Beadle Bamford.

"Mr. Barker," The judge said, smiling evilly. "I'm glad that you're here."

Sweeney held his blade a little tighter. "What do you want?"

"Well, you see…" He looked at Beadle, who, as if he'd been given silent instructions by the judge, turned and locked the door. "I came for you."

The judge took a step closer, and Sweeney took a step back.

"Don't come any closer or I'll slit your throat," Sweeney warned, holding up his blade.

The judge laughed. "Really, now. You're going to do that, in your delicate condition?"

The judge took another step closer, and Beadle followed suit.

Turpin then turned to his lackey. "Disarm him, will you?"

Beadle nodded, and began to get closer, forcing Sweeney back against a wall. With a few hits from his walking stick, Beadle had managed to knock the blade right out of Sweeney's hand. It now lay on the floor, closer to the judge.

Turpin, of course, picked it up, folded it up, and placed it in his pocket.

Sweeney attempted to move forward, but Beadle pushed him back up against the wall and held him there using his stick.

The judge then began to approach him.

"What is it that you want?" Sweeney asked again.

"I told you, I came for you. You're going to regret your decision to return to London."

The judge looked at Beadle. "You can get him ready now."

Beadle grinned, and pulled a gun out of a holster. Sweeney hadn't even noticed that he'd had it.

"You'd best follow my directions, Mr. Todd, or you might get hurt." He grabbed Sweeney, and pulled him along, leading him to the bedroom.

"Now," Beadle said, holding the gun up once again. "Take off your clothes, and lie down on the bed."

Sweeney tried to hide the fact that he was terrified, but he knew he probably wasn't doing a good job of it.

"W-why?" He asked.

"Because Judge Turpin has some plans for you. Now get undressed!"

Beadle pushed the gun up against Sweeney's head, as if to prove that he'd be willing to shoot him if necessary.

Thinking of Emma, Johanna, and his unborn child, Sweeney agreed.

"Okay, okay… I'll do it."

Sweeney took his time taking his clothes off, but eventually the deed was done. He sighed and laid down.

"Good." Beadle opened the bedroom door. "He's ready!"

Sweeney could hear the judge's footsteps as he approached, and he could picture the disgusting grin that the judge likely had on his face.

"Thank you, Beadle. You may wait outside. And give me that gun, before you leave."

Beadle nodded, and handed the judge the gun, before leaving the room and shutting the door.

Sweeney groaned again.

"Please don't kill me."

He heard the judge laugh, and it began.

Sweeney tried not to cry as he felt the judge penetrate him. The man had managed to find the birth canal, a place that was especially sensitive. Sweeney could barely stand the pain. It was like the judge was attempting to tear him in half. It took all of Sweeney's strength not to cry out.

He heard the judge chuckle, likely enjoying the fact that the barber was so scared. Soon enough, he felt the judge move faster and harder, pushing into him deeper than before.

As the action continued, Sweeney began to mentally tear himself away, trying to think of other things, other places that he'd rather be. For a second, his thoughts returned to the present, though, and he vaguely wondered what, if anything, Beadle could hear outside the room.

00

Beadle must've been able to hear the struggle going on, because he was grinning ear to ear the next time that Sweeney saw him.

"Did you have a good time?" Beadle asked, chuckling a little. He, too, obviously got off on violence.

The judge turned to address Beadle, and for a moment, let his guard down. It was then that Sweeney saw his chance. He reached for the gun, attempting to grab it out of the judges' hand.

The judge saw him, though, and moved his hand away. In one swift move, he smacked Sweeney across the face with the pistol. There was a loud crack as the gun hit him, and he instantly touched his face, trying to figure out what the damage was. His jaw hurt terribly, and he now wondered if the judge would finish him off.

To Sweeney's surprise, the judge seemed more amused than anything.

"Barker, you're bleeding," He said, laughing at the sight. "What a pathetic man! Can't even take a hit to the face!"

Sweeney glanced at his hand, and indeed, it was covered in blood.

"Well, don't worry," The judge continued. "I won't be using your mouth the next time. I think I prefer sticking it in other places..." He walked closer to Sweeney. The barber couldn't help but cringe as the judge got closer to him.

Seeing the fear in Sweeney's eyes, the judge began to smile again.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Benjamin Barker."

With that, the judge began to walk away, gun in hand, with Beadle following directly behind him.

00

Once he was sure that Turpin had left, Sweeney got dressed and went to check on Emma. Thankfully she'd been left unharmed.

His next stop was downstairs to see Mrs. Lovett. Sweeney was sure that his jaw was broken. He could barely open his mouth, and the pain was incredible. He hoped that Mrs. Lovett would either know of a good oral surgeon or would have enough gin on hand to dull the pain until he could find one.

Mrs. Lovett was shocked when she saw him.

"Mr. T! Why are you bleeding? What happened?"

"I need help," He said, though it sounded very slurred. Talking was next to impossible.

"What? I can't understand you," The baker replied. "Here," She handed him a pen and a piece of paper. "Write it down."

Sweeney rolled his eyes, but took the pen.

'TURPIN BROKE MY JAW. I NEED A DR.'

He passed the note to Mrs. Lovett, who looked appalled at the idea of the judge hurting Sweeney. She knew that the two were not on the best terms, but would he really beat a man like that?

"You're sure it was the judge?" She asked.

Sweeney shut his eyes, trying to force down his anger. He picked up the pen again.

'I AM VERY SURE.'

He underlined the word 'very' several times.

"Alright... alright, let's get you to the emergency room," Mrs Lovett replied.

She left the shop in Toby's hands, led Sweeney out to her car, and for the second time within the past month, Sweeney found himself at the hospital.

00

Seeing the amount of blood coming from Sweeney's mouth, the ER nurses rushed the barber into an exam room immediately. Since he could not talk, the doctors had to ask Mrs Lovett what had happened. All she said was that Sweeney had been in a fight and that the other man involved had punched him.

The doctors began to examine Sweeney and soon realized that his jaw was definitely broken. The only way for it to heal correctly would be to set it and wire it together. This would obviously present several problems for Sweeney. He wouldn't be able to talk or eat anything that wasn't blended into liquid first, but since it was the only option, the doctors proceeded.

If Sweeney hadn't been in tremendous pain, he would've fought back. He hated hospitals. But it hurt so badly that he just let the doctors do their job. Thankfully, they numbed him before proceeding. By the end of the day, his mouth was filled with wire, and he had headgear that rivaled what Wonka had worn as a child. It was definitely going to be a difficult few weeks.


	14. Chapter 64

A/N: Thank you to Phish Tacko for all her help with this!

Ch. 64

Tarrant was having a bad morning. The babies had started kicking a few days prior, and had kept him up most of the night with it. He had an early appointment with Harvey, but he didn't want to go. By dawn, he'd finally managed to get to sleep, and now Alice was nagging him to wake up and get going.

"Tarrant, you have to wake up and get dressed! Harvey is expecting you soon!"

"Go away," Tarrant groaned, pulling the pillow over his head. "I wanna sleep."

Alice sighed. "Come on, you can sleep later! Don't you want to make sure the babies are okay?"

Knowing he wasn't going to win this argument, Tarrant scowled, but got out of bed. His body hurt. He was so tired… All he wanted was to sleep a bit more.

He started searching around for something to wear. His clothes were too small. Carlie had let some of them out, but being pregnant with twins meant that he was growing very fast. He found a yellow shirt that he thought might fit, and pulled it on, only to find that it barely covered his belly.

"Alice, tell him I can't go! I have nothing to wear."

Alice walked back into the room.

"Wear the yellow shirt, Tarrant. That's fine."

"I look like a fat man in a shirt two sizes too small!" Tarrant protested.

"Well, there's got to be SOMETHING you can wear." Alice began rooting around the room. She pulled out a red shirt and handed it to Tarrant. "Try this."

Tarrant frowned, but took off the yellow shirt and put the red one on. It fit slightly better.

"I still need trousers to wear."

Alice sighed, and started poking throw Tarrant's pile of clothes again. She pulled out a pair of black stretch pants. "Here you go."

Tarrant's eyes narrowed as he looked the pants over.

"I'm not that far along yet, Alice!"

"If it's all that fits, then it's what you'll have to wear. Now come on, get dressed!"

Tarrant pushed down his anger, knowing that it was misplaced, and swallowed his pride and put the pants on. They did indeed fit better than anything else he had.

Once again, Alice left the room, intending to go take care of Daisy.

Tarrant walked out a moment later. He figured if he left now, he could get to the castle within the hour.

Alice stopped him as he walked through the kitchen.

"Tarrant, love, have some toast before you go."

"I don't have time. You made me get out of bed because I was going to be late!"

"You need to eat, though. If you'd just woken up on time this wouldn't be a problem."

That was the last straw for Tarrant. Besides being tired, in pain, and embarrassed that none of his clothes fit, now his wife was blaming him for not getting up on time.

"Damn it, Alice," Tarrant yelled, his brogue becoming more pronounced. "Don't you have anything else to bitch about?"

Alice was shocked.

"Excuse me?"

"I said get off my back, woman! I'm tired of it!"

Alice's jaw dropped. "If it weren't for me, you'd never make it anywhere! Now get out! Go to your appointment, and don't come back until you've cooled off enough to be decent!"

"I'd rather not be here anyway!" Tarrant yelled. He ran towards the door and slammed it behind him as he left.

00

Though it felt good to get his anger out, Tarrant regretted what he'd done after walking for a few minutes. He just felt so frustrated as of late. He knew Alice was only trying to help him by waking him up and making sure he got to his appointments. He should not have yelled at her.

It seemed like lately his moods were really all over, even more so than before, if that was possible.

Being almost five months pregnant with twins was really affecting his body, too, and that did not help things. Tarrant was always tired, and the morning sickness still had not stopped. Of course there was the constant sweating, too. He would get hot in a very short amount of time. The sweat made him feel disgusting.

Being unable to fit into his clothes was another thing. Tarrant was self-conscious even when he wasn't pregnant and knowing that he looked like he swallowed a basketball made it worse.

There were other things, too, things that Tarrant had been trying to forget about, but they were bothering him. Mostly that Alice was being less affectionate with him lately. She didn't kiss him or hug him as much, and they were rarely intimate anymore. He wondered if it had to do with his appearance, or if maybe she was just unhappy in their marriage all together.

Thinking of all of this made Tarrant feel sad. Yet another mood swing. By the time he got to Mirana's castle, he was nearly crying.

00

Seeing how upset Tarrant was, Harvey decided not to proceed with the exam, as soon as he was sure that Tarrant's behavior was not related to any pain or health issues. Instead, he called Mirana over. Perhaps the two of them together could help calm the hatter down.

As soon as she saw Tarrant, Mirana immediately gave him a hug. He held onto her for a moment, crying on her shoulder, only pulling away after receiving an odd look from Harvey.

"What's wrong, dear?" Mirana asked, taking a seat across from Tarrant and next to Harvey.

Harvey had moved them to his office before calling Mirana over. It was more comfortable to talk in there.

"This morning, Alice and I had an argument," Tarrant replied, sniffling. Harvey handed him a tissue.

"Over what?" The doctor asked.

Tarrant shook his head and wiped his nose. "It's complicated..."

"Well, start at the beginning," Mirana suggested.

"Well… This morning, she woke me up because I had to come to the appointment, but I barely slept at all. The babies were kicking me all evening. I was annoyed because I was so tired. I'm tired all the time lately, it seems..." Tarrant trailed off. He zoned out for a moment before starting again. "...Then I went to get dressed, and nothing fit, except my current attire. Then I went to leave, and she told me to eat breakfast... and I yelled at her." Tarrant's eyes began to change color.

Mirana frowned, and rested a hand on Tarrant's knee. "Calm down. What did you say to her?"

"I told her that I wanted her to get off my back, to stop nagging me... to leave me alone. She told me to leave." Once again Tarrant's eyes changed, and he began to lisp.

"I told her to stop being a bitch," Tarrant added. "I didn't mean it, though. I'm just so frustrated... and I think she's unhappy with me. She's going to leave me..."

Mirana shook her head. "Why do you think she's unhappy?"

"She doesn't touch me anymore. She doesn't kiss me, or hold my hand. She seems annoyed with me often lately... I know I've ruined this. Of course I did. How could I ever expect her to love someone like me, I-"

"Oh, stop it," Mirana said, cutting Tarrant off. "Of course Alice loves you. Maybe she's upset because you're having more mood swings lately, and it's stressing her out. People deal with stress in many ways, and perhaps that's just her way."

Tarrant shook his head 'no'. "She probably thinks I'm disgusting."

"She would never think that, and you know it," Mirana replied.

"I'm inclined to agree with Mirana," Harvey said. "I think Alice cares for you deeply. Perhaps she is just stressed out, too. She also has to deal with having a larger family now, as well as raising a young child. You should ask her about it. But you should apologize first."

"Yes, you should," Mirana agreed. "Tell her you are sorry for yelling at her, and explain how you feel lately. Talk things over. If you want, you can take some flowers from the garden before you leave, to give her as a gift."

Tarrant seemed to calm down a bit. "You don't think she wants to leave me?"

"No," Both Mirana and Harvey answered.

"But you have to talk to her. That's the only way to fix everything," Harvey said.

Tarrant sniffled, but nodded in agreement. "Alright... thank you."

Mirana smiled at Tarrant. "It's fine, Tarrant. Just calm down. Take a few deep breaths, go pick some flowers."

"Okay." Tarrant started to push himself up, something that was getting harder and harder to do lately. Harvey moved to help him.

"And Tarrant?" Harvey called out, as Tarrant walked towards the door.

Tarrant turned to look at him.

"Come back tomorrow. We still have to do your exam, after all."


	15. Chapter 65

A/N Thank you to Phish Tacko for all of her help with this!

Ch. 65

It had taken Jack several days to regain his strength, and even then he was still weak. However, Dr. Schnabel felt comfortable releasing him. Will had come to pick Jack up.

"Now, remember, he should only eat bland foods for the next day or so. And also make sure he stays hydrated!" Dr. Schnabel reminded Will.

Will sighed. "Yes, I know. Ashley explained this already." He looked at Jack. "Are you ready to go now?"

"Yes," Jack replied.

The two men were about to walk out when the doctor stopped them.

"Before you leave… William, are you feeling alright? You look very pale."

"I'm just feeling a little off. I'll be fine," Will reassured him.

"Okay, if you're sure."

Will forced a smile and he and Jack left the shelter.

00

Will had lied to Dr. Schnabel. He had actually been feeling sick for the last week. Now he felt absolutely awful. Very sick, like he was going to throw up any minute. However, he had to get Jack home. Since Jack was pregnant, he had a higher risk of something bad happening.

He led Jack to the car and opened the door for him.

"Thanks," Jack said, taking a seat inside.

"Yeah." Will walked around to the driver's side. As he sat down, he felt his stomach gurgle.

This was going to be a long ride.

00

By some miracle, the roads had very little traffic, and so Will made it back quickly. He parked and jumped out of the car, knowing that he only had mere seconds before he was going to throw up. He ran back to the ship while Jack slowly got out.

While Will would've greatly preferred throwing up in the privacy of his bathroom, he only made it to the deck. Once there, he leaned over the side and proceeded to heave.

Elizabeth, who was on deck with Angelica and Angela enjoying the nice day, had come to his side immediately.

"Will! What's wrong?" She began to rub Will's back soothingly.

Will didn't answer. He continued to throw up. Angelica, meanwhile, went over to Jack, who was slowly making his way towards the stairs to go to their cabin. She followed him down and the two began to talk.

"I'm so glad you're back! Angela and I missed you so much!"

Jack half smiled.

"I missed you too."

"How are you feeling now?" Angelica asked.

"Tired. Weak. But better than I did a few days ago."

"That's good."

The two entered their cabin, and Angelica placed Angela in her playpen. Jack walked into the bedroom.

"Do you need anything?" Angelica asked, standing in the doorway. Jack was sitting on the edge of the bed, wishing that the burning feeling in his stomach would go away. Since he'd been sick, he hadn't been able to eat much. It was a wonder that he hadn't fainted. "Maybe some toast? And some water?"

"Sure."

Angelica turned around, took three steps, then promptly tripped over one of Angela's toys.

"¡HIJO DE PU-" She yelled, catching herself only at the last second.

Having heard her calling out, Jack came rushing over.

"Angelica? Are you alright there?"

"No, I am not all right! Oww... Fuck." She cradled her right arm. "I think I broke it. I fell right on it."

Tears were starting to form in Angelica's eyes, so Jack knew she was in pain. Rarely did she ever cry.

"Alright, love, it's okay…"

Right at that second, Angela started to cry. Jack looked over at her playpen, unsure of who he should help. And then suddenly, he felt it. He was getting lightheaded again. Jack knew what that meant.

"I'm gonna faint," He mumbled, leaning back against the wall.

"Oh, no you don't!" Angelica snapped. "No! Go get Elizabeth!"

Jack nodded weakly and walked to the bottom of the stairs.

"Elizabeth?" He called. "Elizabeth, Angelica might've broke her arm… We need help!"

There was an extremely loud sigh before Elizabeth replied. "Coming!"

Will had stabilized to an extent by that point, so she felt comfortable leaving him. She ran down the steps.

"What's going on?"

"I think I broke my arm!" Angelica repeated. "It fucking hurts!"

"Shit," Elizabeth said before shaking her head. "Alright. Okay. I'm going to pick you up under your armpits and lead you to the couch."

Angelica cringed, paying attention more to the pain she was in than what Elizabeth was saying. Nevertheless, Elizabeth managed to get her up and safely out of the way.

"Alright. Stay there, now." She walked towards Angela's playpen and picked the child up. The girl stopped crying almost immediately. Then she walked to the kitchen, where she found a bag of candy. She took that in her other hand, walked back out and threw it at Jack.

"Eat some of that," She instructed.

Finally, she reached for her cell phone, dialed a number and held it up to her ear.

"Hello, Ashley?" She asked after a few seconds. "Yes - this is Elizabeth. I'm Jack and Angelica's friend. Yes, the Jack who was just at the shelter. Listen, Jack and Will are sick and Angelica may have broken her arm. I recall that you work with a doctor - would he or one of his colleagues be able to come out? I don't think I should leave them." She paused as Ashley replied, then covered the speaker with her hand.

"She's going to ask him if he can come over now."

"How'd you have her number?" Jack asked, confused.

"Will gave it to me as an emergency contact. Said he got terrible reception there." Then she heard Ashley's voice, and she uncovered the speaker.

"Ashley? Oh, yes, that would be fantastic. Thanks! Yes, have him call this number if there's any problems finding it. Wonderful, thank you!"

She hung up.

"Well?" Jack asked.

"Dr. Schnabel's old colleague is going to come out to examine all of you." She looked at Angelica, who was gritting her teeth, cursing in her native tongue, and doing her best not to cry. "The nurse said to apply ice to your arm, so I'll go get that, then I'll bring Will down here too."

Elizabeth scampered off before anyone could reply.

00

It wasn't long before Dr. Schnabel's doctor friend showed up. He was a little bit younger than Doctor Schnabel, and he also spoke with a slight German accent.

"Dr. Austerlitz! Thank you for coming on such short notice!" Elizabeth said, extending her hand.

"It is no problem. Leonard has been a friend of mine for years, I am happy to help him." He shook her hand.

"We really appreciate it! Follow me, everyone's downstairs."

Elizabeth, who was still carrying Angela, led the doctor down to Jack's cabin. Jack was lying on one side of the bed, too weak to move. Will was in the bathroom, vomiting, and Angelica was on the couch, holding an ice pack to her arm. All of them had been in constant need of help, so Elizabeth was very happy to see the doctor.

Dr. Austerlitz surveyed his patients and shook his head, stunned that so many people out of such a small group could be sick or hurt at the same time.

"Since she looks to be in the most pain, we'll start with her," The doctor said, motioning towards Angelica.

He came over to the sofa and set his bag on the floor.

"Hello," He greeted Angelica.

"Hola," Angelia hissed, still in pain.

"Your friend tells me that you broke your arm… I'll need to examine it."

Angelica slowly held her arm out, wincing in pain as she did so.

The doctor very gently felt her forearm, looking it over closely. After few minutes he spoke up.

"Without an x-ray machine I cannot tell exactly how bad it is, but my experience tells me that it is likely a fracture. I can wrap your arm with a splint, which will help the pain to an extent, but you'll have to see a orthopedist."

"Fine," Angelica agreed. "Por favor, just make it stop!"

The doctor took a deep breath, took out his medical supplies, and began the task at hand.

00

Once Angelica's arm was wrapped, the doctor moved on to Will.

Will had been vomiting on and off for over an hour, and now only bile was coming up.

As Will wasn't a particularly weak man, nor was he pregnant like Jack was, the doctor only gave him some over the counter medicine to help with nausea.

Then finally, he moved on to Jack.

"Leonard tells me that you've been quite ill lately," He remarked.

"I'm doing better now, it just took a lot out of me."

"Right, well, I think as long as you do not overexert yourself, you will be fine. For today, you should rest."

"Sounds good to me," Jack agreed.

The doctor smiled at him and stood up, then walked over to Elizabeth.

"Do you think that you can handle them on your own?"

"It's not like I have much of a choice."

"That is true. Try not to stress yourself out too much, though," The doctor said. "Everything will be fine. I'll send a referral for Angelica for an orthopedist I know."

"Thank you," Elizabeth replied.

And with that, the doctor was on his way.

00

Not getting stressed out with three sick and/or injured people and a baby was much easier said than done. Will and Jack had taken up most of her time, but Angelica was doing her fair share of talking too. Elizabeth wasn't sure who was worse - her friends or the baby.

Finally, as Jack slept in his bed and Will slept curled up on the bathroom floor, Angela had finally fallen asleep as well.

Elizabeth smiled to herself, thinking that now she might get some peace. This was not to be, though. As she walked out into the living room, she heard a voice.

"Elizabeth?" Angelica called.

Suddenly, all of the frustration at the events of the day made Elizabeth snap.

"What?!" She yelled, turning around. Angelica could see the rage on Elizabeth's face and pushed herself back against the sofa.

"I- Er. I'm sorry. I was just going to ask for something to drink but I'll get it."

Elizabeth frowned, feeling more upset than angry. Then she began to cry.

"No, no. Sit down. I've got it," She said. She walked into the kitchen, retrieved a water bottle, and presented it to Angelica.

"I'm sorry," Angelica said softly. "I know we're a tough bunch."

"It's not your fault. None of you asked for this," Elizabeth responded, wiping away her tears. "It's just been a stressful day was all. And here I am, crying like an infant over nothing."

Angelica nodded sympathetically.

"It's not over nothing. I'd be upset too. If it helps at all, the next time you're sick, I'll totally take care of you."

A funny thought then came to Elizabeth's mind and she smiled.

"Much as I appreciate that, you'd probably kill me somehow, in some stupid way, possibly involving that toy lightsaber you have."

Angelica smiled back.

"You're right. I probably would. I mean, not intentionally, but you know. Probably."

"...You're a trip, Angelica."

"Hey, better the lightsaber than Orcrist."

"Still not a real sword."


	16. Chapter 66

A/N Thank you to Phish Tacko for all of her help with this!

Ch. 66

Each time the ship docked, Anthony would find his way to an internet cafe. There, he would do three things: He'd send an email to Sweeney, check his Twitter to see if Jamie Campbell Bower had sent him any further messages, and of course, he would Skype with Johanna.

Right now, the ship was docked in Japan. Anthony had managed to get ahold of Johanna, and their conversation started out as it normally did. But a few minutes in, things took a turn. The two had been discussing work when Johanna mentioned it.

"I've got a new co-worker."

"Oh?"

"His name is James. Everyone here likes him and the customers love him!" Johanna said, smiling.

Anthony felt a knot form in his stomach. For some reason, this conversation was making him uncomfortable. Still, he didn't want to be rude to his wife.

"Why's that?" He asked, trying to sound calm.

"Well, for one thing, he's very handsome. He's got huge biceps and a six pack that you can bounce a quarter off of. Not to mention his face - he's a dead ringer for that guy that played Superman."

"Christopher Reeve?"

"Yeah, him. When he was young. Besides that he's very nice, very friendly. He can talk to anyone. He gets huge tips all the time."

"I see," Anthony replied, feeling the knot in his stomach pull even tighter.

Johanna smiled again.

"Yeah… He's great. Anyway, how's Kelso?" She changed the subject.

"Kelso? He's fine. I lost eight hands of poker to him the other day, though," Anthony answered, happy to be discussing something else.

"That's great. Tell him I say hi."

From there the conversation again proceeded as it normally did. An hour later, Anthony logged out of Skype and clicked back to his Twitter page.

He trusted Johanna. He really did. He was happy for the chance to talk to her, too. It seemed like they got to speak so rarely. But he couldn't get the thought of James out of his mind. If this guy was really as great as Johanna said he was, she might end up liking him, if she didn't already.

Anthony shook his head, trying to get rid of the thought. It would do him no good to dwell on this.

Slowly he made his way back to the ship, hoping that doing some work might distract him.

00

It turned out that work didn't help much. It just made Anthony feel more frustrated. As his pregnancy progressed, doing even simple tasks was hard. His feet hurt constantly and he was always tired.

He finished mopping the deck and went down below. When he arrived at the bathroom, he closed the door, unbuttoned his shirt, and looked in the mirror.

He cringed. His stomach was huge, and he wasn't even five months pregnant yet. It stuck out from his hip bones like a cantaloupe. It wasn't all from the baby, either. He was able to pinch a good inch of fat that hadn't been there previously, and his arms looked thicker too.

Frowning, he turned around and pulled the scale out of the closet. He had found it there a month prior, amongst some other random items. There were several plungers, several spare toilet levers, ten boxes of q-tips, and over thirty cans of aerosol air freshener. Anthony had come to the conclusion that the closet was where excess toiletries and such were stored, and most of the items had eventually been distributed, but he had kept the scale for himself. He needed to watch his growth anyway.

Anthony took off his jeans and took a deep breath, then got on the scale. He closed his eyes while the numbers bounced around before finally settling on 175.

Anthony nearly choked. He'd been around 140 when he'd left Johanna, meaning he'd gained thirty five pounds in a few short months!

Thinking back on it, it actually made sense. Most of the clothing that he'd brought on board had been baggy on him at the time, but now it fit nearly perfectly. Suddenly, he began to feel a combination of nausea and sadness. A second later, a sob escaped his throat and a tear ran down his face.

And, if things couldn't get any worse, right then there was a knock on the door.

"Anthony?" A voice called out.

It was Kelso.

Anthony didn't reply, hoping that Kelso might go away. Of course, he didn't. Instead he knocked again, louder this time.

"I know you're in there!" Kelso said. "You left your sneakers outside the door!"

Anthony sighed and grabbed a tissue. He dried his eyes and quickly put the scale back in the closet.

"Give me a minute!" He called out.

Fast as he could, he threw his clothes back on, then answered the door, hoping that Kelso wouldn't notice anything amiss.

At first, the other boy didn't notice anything. Then Anthony stepped out into the light of the hallway.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kelso asked, concerned. "Your eyes are all red."

"...Nothing," Anthony mumbled, ashamed that he was getting so upset over something as stupid as gaining a few pounds.

"It can't be nothing. What's up?" Kelso continued to press.

"It's stupid."

"So what? Tell me."

Anthony slumped his shoulders and explained everything, starting with Johanna's new coworker to how shitty he felt all the time to how much weight he gained.

"...And even my arms are bigger! I've always had little scrawny arms!" Anthony finished, trying not to cry again.

Kelso rolled his eyes.

"Your arms are bigger because you have more muscle, you jackass."

"No way…"

"Yes way. Hope, I've seen you working. You've got some of the strongest hands on the ship! You opened that mayo jar when no one else could, remember?"

The random statement made Anthony chuckle.

"That's true. Yes, I remember that."

"You've got really strong arms and legs. I'm sure that at least some of the weight is muscle," Kelso reassured him.

"Maybe," Anthony agreed. "Maybe you're right."

"I am right. Now, let's go relax. We can play another game of poker, and I'll even let you win."


	17. Chapter 67

A/N Thank you to Phish Tacko for all of her help with this, especially since I know nothing of LOTR.

Ch. 67

Meanwhile, in another realm, King Thranduil was worried. His son, Legolas, had been acting unusual as of late.

Over a month ago, the king had woken up early. He was walking past his son's room when he heard it. His son was sick. Almost violently ill, it sounded like.

Worried, he had made his way into Legolas' bathroom. The prince was there, on his knees, vomiting.

He had helped Legolas back to bed when he had finished and had offered to get a healer, but Legolas wouldn't hear of it.

"I'm fine," He said, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "Just… must've eaten something I shouldn't have."

The king didn't like this answer. Something definitely seemed wrong, but Legolas had always been stubborn, so he had reluctantly agreed not to intervene.

Days went by and soon enough, almost two months had passed since the incident. Then, something else took place.

The royal family was sitting down to eat. The servants provided standard fare of bread, vegetables and meat. The king was about to dig in when he noticed that Legolas looked even paler than usual. Besides that, he was staring at the food and looking quite ill.

"Is everything alright?" Thranduil asked.

Legolas' eyes grew wide, and he clamped a hand over his mouth. Before anyone could ask anything else, he had stood up and run from the room.

This time, Tauriel had gone to check on him, and she found him in the same position that Thranduil had found him in previously.

"Mellon, something is wrong," She said softly as she rubbed his back.

Legolas heaved a few more times and fell back against the wall. He closed his eyes, feeling utterly drained. He'd barely been able to keep anything down at all lately, and it seemed like the smell of even the most mundane foods made him sick. Not only that, he had begun having these strange cravings. Sometimes he wanted things that he'd never liked before. Like mushrooms, for instance. And he seemed to constantly want roasted boar, too, and he'd never cared for that.

"I know," He agreed. "I don't know what it is."

Tauriel frowned. She held out her hands to help him up and wrapped an arm around his waist once he was standing.

Slowly, she led him to his bed. Once he was tucked in, she left the room and called for a healer.


	18. Chapter 68

**A/N Thank you to Phish Tacko for all of her help with this,and thank you to our new readers who are leaving reviews! We REALLY appreciate it!**

Ch. 68

Back at the shelter, Schnabel and Ashley were busy. They were reviewing the RSVP's to the shelter reunion that they'd received.

They had sent out notices on Facebook and via mail, and had received several replies.

"Sam's going to be here. So will Gilbert and Edward," Ashley said, looking at her phone. Gilbert had responded to the Facebook invite. "It says they want to bring Becky and Arnie. I guess Joon will watch the kids, then."

"Alright, so that's five," Schnabel said, writing the names down.

"I also got a message from Mr. Todd. He's coming over, and he's bringing Mrs. Lovett and Emma and he's driving down with Mort, his girlfriend Maryanne, and Anakin. Apparently Mr. Todd's pregnant again, too and... It looks like Mort was as well, but he lost the baby." Ashley frowned.

"That is sad," Schnabel said. "But the reunion is timed well, then. I'm sure that Mort can make use of the trauma counselor. As far as Mr. Todd goes… Hopefully this pregnancy will be less stressful than his last one," Schnabel replied, before adding their names to the list. "So that makes eleven, then. Go on."

"Willy's not coming. He has too much to do at the factory."

"Aw, that's a shame."

"Anthony is… apparently he's expecting again as well and he's at… He's at sea?" Ashley questioned, looking at her phone. "I've got to be reading that wrong." She showed the message to Schnabel.

"No, it says that he's at sea."

"Wow. Alright. Now, Ichabod and Jack both sent back snail mail letters. Ichabod will be here and he's bringing a friend Masbath, and Jack is coming along with his friends Will, Elizabeth and of course Angelica and Angela. That's a lot of people…"

"It is. But we have the space, thankfully."

The recent months had been quite profitable for the shelter, as many of their residents had donated large amounts of money. This allowed Schnabel to add on five extra rooms and to expand a couple of the existing ones.

"So that's eighteen," He continued.

"And finally, Mirana wrote on behalf of Tarrant. He's coming as well and may bring Alice and his sister, but they're not sure yet."

"So let's round it off to twenty one, give or take."

"Alrighty," Ashley agreed. "We have a lot to prepare for."

"That we do, but we still have a week to go," Schnabel reminded her.

"True. This evening I'll start sprucing up the rooms again and we can go to the supermarket tomorrow."

Schnabel smiled.

"Don't worry. We'll get everything done. Just relax."

Ashley smiled back.

"I'm trying. It'll be really nice to see everyone again."


	19. Chapter 69

A/N: More Legolas. Thank you to Phish Tacko for all of her help with this, as I know nothing of LOTR. And again thank you to our new readers who are leaving reviews! We REALLY appreciate it!

Ch. 69

The king quietly watched over Legolas. He was asleep, finally.

He had been sick much of the day and the healers had visited, but after many exams and

tests, none of them could figure out what was wrong. Yet there Legolas was, looking pale and drawn with bags under his eyes. Thranduil could not remember ever seeing him so sick.

"I don't know what else to do," He admitted. "If the healers cannot help…" He trailed off.

"I have to wonder if it has something to do with the incident that occurred." Tauriel glanced up at the king.

Thranduil knew what she spoke of. Slightly more than three months prior, Legolas had been attacked. It had been in the forest, during a routine evening patrol, and Legolas had been unable to fight the attacker off. As a result, the attacker had taken him by force.

Legolas only spoke of the incident once, to Tauriel, and had never mentioned it since. He was humiliated at being unable to defend himself.

"It may be," The king answered. "But I have an idea. Lord Aragorn is here in Mirkwood."

Tauriel's eyes brightened slightly.

"Is he? I thought he was not expected for another two days."

"He arrived early. Perhaps his knowledge of healing can be of some help."

Tauriel nodded.

"I hope so."

00

Aragorn had come to Mirkwood for diplomatic reasons, and because he had intended to visit Legolas. When the king told him how ill Legolas was, Aragorn immediately went to see his friend.

Though it was near the afternoon, Legolas was still laid up in bed, feeling too weak to move. He had a bowl nearby in case he were to get sick again, but he hadn't yet.

"Aragorn!" Legolas greeted him. "It is good to see you, gwador nin!" He was clearly excited, but his voice was weak.

"And you as well," Aragorn replied. "However, I would prefer to see you in better condition!"

Legolas frowned. "I would like that myself."

Aragorn nodded, closed the door, and sat down on the edge of Legolas' bed.

"You father and mother… They asked if I may be able to help you, as the other healers could not."

Legolas stared at him.

"If you don't mind… It might be worth a try."

Legolas wanted to say no. He wanted to tell his friend to leave him alone. The last thing he wanted was to be examined and poked and prodded by the person who he felt closest with. He was, in fact, about to tell Aragorn exactly that when a wave of nausea came over him. Knowing he would be unable to hold it back, Legolas held the bowl close to his lips and promptly threw up.

He had not eaten much recently, so all that came up was bile. It made his stomach burn and he couldn't help but groan when he was done. Tears were forming in his eyes.

"You were about to say?" Aragorn asked.

"...Yes. Go ahead. Do what you have to do," Legolas whispered. "Anything's better than feeling like this."

00

Aragorn emerged from Legolas' room some time later. He had figured out what was plaguing his friend, and now he had to explain it to the king. Legolas hadn't taken the news so well, and Aragorn was hoping that his father might take it better.

"I've found out why Legolas is so sick," Aragorn began. He was meeting with the king in his private quarters.

"And that is?" Thranduil asked.

"Well… This may come as a shock, but Legolas is with child."

The king's jaw dropped. Then, a second later, he burst out laughing. This confused Aragorn.

"Excuse me?" He asked, unsure of what the king found so funny. Legolas was pregnant. By the being that had raped him, no less. "That's great," The king said, trying to calm himself. "I needed that. Now, what's the real problem?"

"...That is the real problem," Aragorn answered. "He is pregnant. Three months along. The person who… The person who took him… They must be the other parent."

Thranduil looked shocked.

"We've never dealt with such a thing!" He exclaimed. "How do we care for him? How do we help him?" He grabbed Aragorn by the shoulders and shook him. "Tell me, Aragorn. What do we do?"

Seeing how frantic the king was getting, Aragorn held up his hands.

"Calm down, please! There is a place I've heard of in another realm, where situations such as this are more common. There is a healer who runs a shelter for men in Legolas' situation. We should try to get him there."

"In another realm?"

"Yes."

The king let out a loud sigh.

"Well, you know what that means, Aragorn. We must find Mithrandir."


	20. Chapter 70

A/N: Thank you to Phish Tacko for all her help with this!

Ch. 70

It was now Saturday, and the reunion had begun. Hatter was chatting with Jack, Edward, Will and Sam, while Gilbert had launched into a conversation with Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett. He kept an eye on Arnie while he spoke, being sure not to let the boy out of his sight.

On the other side of the yard, Ichabod and Masbath were speaking to Ashley and Tom. Mort had gone to get himself a soda when he bumped into Ichabod.

"Oh!" Ichabod gasped, surprised by Mort. He turned to the writer. "Mort Rainey! You're back!"

Mort nodded.

"Ah, rat-fink. Funny seeing you here."

Ichabod glared at Mort, but said nothing.

"Rat-fink?" Masbath asked.

"It's a long story."

"Right, then."

Ichabod forced a smile and continued on with the conversation, Mort going his own separate way.

Seeing that Maryanne was busy getting to know Becky, Angelica and Elizabeth, Mort decided to go see who else he could bother. He was in a pretty bad mood, and seeing everyone else either pregnant or acting all happy just made him feel even worse.

It wasn't fair. What had he done wrong to deserve what had happened? Well, there had been that thing with his ex-wife and her new lover, but that was a long time ago. And he'd been a good father to Anakin, and a good boyfriend to Maryanne, and he felt that he didn't deserve to have a miscarriage.

Mort slowly walked around the yard, scowling at anyone who so much as looked at him funny. Thankfully, most that were there remembered Mort and knew to stay away when he was upset, so no one had bothered him.

Mort skulked around for close to an hour, watching the others, seething inside. Later on, he had caught sight of Anakin playing with Angela in a sandbox, and he felt his anger dissipate. He was lucky to have Anakin and to have Maryanne. She had been good to him through all the hard times that they'd faced.

Frowning, Mort decided to head inside. He was tired and he wanted to lie down.

Before going in, he helped himself to a plate of food from the buffet that had been laid out. He piled some baked ziti, salad and meatballs onto his dish then walked in through the back of the shelter. Ashley had told him that he would be staying in his old room, and he intended to eat his meal and then take a nap.

Mort had just walked through the back door when something caught his eye. The lights inside the shelter were off, but something was shining on the other side of the room. It looked like - No, it couldn't be. Mort shook his head, thinking that the portal-looking thing would disappear, but it didn't.

Seconds later, he saw what looked like an arm come through it. Followed by a leg, followed by the rest of someone's body. A person had just walked right out of a portal and into the shelter's kitchen.

Mort nearly dropped his plate.

The person - a thin blonde with long hair turned towards the portal and out walked another person. This time, the person was very tall and had a short beard and dark hair.

Mort took a step back, then reached for the door. He opened it and stuck his head out.

"Uh, guys? Schnabel? Anyone? I think you'd better come see this."


	21. Chapter 71

**A/N: Thank you to Phish Tacko for her help beta'ing this! Go read her stuff!**

Ch. 71

Schnabel, Ashley and Angelica were the first ones on the scene. By the time they arrived, the portal had disappeared, but the two new visitors remained.

"Hello?" Schnabel asked, confused as to what was going on. "How did you get in here?"

"We've come to ask for your help." Aragorn dodged the question.

Angelica's eyebrows shot up. Either these men were fantastic cosplayers, or she was actually staring at two of the main characters from Lord of the Rings. She kept quiet, not wanting to sound stupid by asking who they were.

"Do you realize where you are?" Schnabel asked, studying the men. The thin blonde was resting a hand on his stomach, and he looked very sick.

"We have heard that you are capable of helping men who are with child," Aragorn replied. "Have we come to the wrong place?"

"No, no. It's just…" Schnabel trailed off. Right then, he remembered how Hatter had arrived in a strange way as well, having seemingly come from another world. He figured that he shouldn't be surprised about having yet more visitors from another place. "...Never mind," He continued. "My name is Leonard Schnabel. This is the shelter I run."

Schnabel held out his hand to shake hands with Aragorn, but Aragorn just stared at him. He put his arm down. Wherever these men were from, apparently they didn't do handshakes.

"Right, well... We're actually in the middle of a reunion right now, but if you'll follow me to my office, I can give an examination and we can have a discussion." Schnabel smiled at the two men, and they offered small smiles in return. "Ashley, you're in charge until I get back."

"Alright!" The nurse answered.

The two visitors and Schnabel walked off. When they were gone, Ashley turned to Mort and Angelica, who were still staring with wide eyes.

"So. How about we go back outside?"

Angelica and Mort both nodded and quietly followed her back out.

00

"I'm serious," Angelica said, looking Elizabeth straight in the eyes. "They look exactly like Legolas and Aragorn!"

Elizabeth smiled.

"They're probably some cosplayers. I mean, those movies are fictional, you know."

"I don't know. Their costumes looked pretty realistic."

Right then, Sam came over, interrupting their conversation. He was holding a yellow t-shirt.

"Hi Angelica! Hi Elizabeth! That's a nice cast you have there." Sam was referring to the electric blue cast on Angelica's arm.

"Gracias. ¿Que pasa?"

"I was wondering, would you sign my shirt? I wanted to get everyone's signatures on it so I have something to remember this event by."

"Sure," Elizabeth agreed.

Angelica bent over slightly and let Elizabeth place the shirt against her back, giving her friend a surface to write on. After she was finished the two switched places, and Angelica did her best to sign her name, what with her arm being broken.

"Thanks!" Sam said, as Angelica handed him back his shirt.

"No problem."

Sam smiled at Angelica and walked away.

On the other side of the yard, Jack had joined in conversation with Ichabod and Masbath. Sweeney had come along, too, as did Mort. The group was discussing their family reunions.

Being unable to speak, Sweeney had brought along a notebook and a pen. Mort would read off whatever Sweeney wrote while the rest of the group listened intently. When he finally got tired of writing, Ichabod spoke up.

"And I thought my family was odd!" He exclaimed, staring at Sweeney.

"Didn't your father kill your mother in an iron maiden?" Jack asked. "'Cause that's pretty weird, mate."

"Oh, yes. There's that." Ichabod frowned. "Thanks for reminding me."

A feeling of gloom settled over the group.

"Yeah, well, I'm going to go play some cards," Jack said, backing up. "Anyone want to join?"

Sweeney gave him a thumbs up and followed him away, while Mort went off to find Maryanne.


	22. Chapter 72

**A/N: Thank you to Phish Tacko for her help beta'ing this! Go read her stuff!**

Ch. 72

Inside Schnabel's office, Legolas was being examined. Schnabel had been quickly able to confirm Aragorn's diagnosis of pregnancy. The only thing that was confusing was that Aragorn had stated that Legolas was three months along, but the fetus looked smaller than normal for that age. Legolas, however, was able to explain that.

"Elves give birth after twelve months, not nine as humans do." He said.

Schnabel wrote this down. He was very intrigued by Legolas' physiology, and he wanted to learn more about how elves lived and reproduced, but now wasn't the time. This elf was obviously quite tired.

"You can get up now," Schnabel said. "I'll show you to your room. Aragorn, was it?" He looked at the tall brunette.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to stay the night?"

Aragorn nodded.

"I would like that, yes. I want to ensure that Legolas feels comfortable and safe."

"No problem."

Schnabel led the two down the hall to the last bedroom on the right. He opened the door, revealing a fairly large room that was painted mint green. There were two twin beds in it, along with two bureaus, a small television set, a bookshelf, and a desk. The beds were covered with emerald green comforters. Legolas liked the color.

"This will be your room. Aragorn can stay here for tonight, but within the next few days I'd like to see about finding you a roommate for when he leaves."

"That sounds good." Legolas agreed.

Schnabel walked over to a door on the side of the room and opened it up.

"This right here is your bathroom. You'll find towels and toiletries inside. If you need anything else, let me know. You may wear your own clothes or I can provide clothes for you if you need them."

Legolas smiled, despite feeling like he would fall asleep at any moment.

"I would prefer to keep my own clothes. Thank you for being so kind."

"Of course! I enjoy helping others. Anyhow, as I mentioned, we are having a reunion. I must attend to the guests outside. If you need anything, feel free to find me. The kitchen is down the hall, past the common room. Take food from there if you get hungry. When you've rested tomorrow, I'll give you a better tour."

"Thank you," Aragorn and Legolas said at once, watching as Schnabel walked out and closed the door behind him.


	23. Chapter 73

**A/N: Many thanks to Phish Tacko for helping me to beta this story! **

Ch. 73

Outside, Jack had set up a poker game with Sweeney, Gilbert, Mrs. Lovett, Will and Elizabeth. Several feet away, Carlie, Edward and Angelica were dealing with Hatter.

Hatter was not having a good day. Most of his days lately were bad, but that was besides the point. Today he felt even worse than usual, since not only did he feel tired and sick, but his feet also hurt. Apparently they had grown and were now too big for the shoes he was wearing. It was a weird symptom, but it wasn't unheard of.

Hatter, however, was not pleased. After an hour of wearing the too-tight shoes, he finally became annoyed enough to take them off and throw them, accidentally nailing Edward in the head with one of them. The other shoe had hit Angelica between her shoulder blades.

The two had confronted Hatter (Edward was gentle about it. Angelica was a bit more harsh) and now he was angrily lisping at them while crying.

Carlie was trying to keep everyone calm, but it was difficult. Hatter had been stressed or upset almost constantly, and she began to wonder if maybe he would be better off staying at the shelter again. She, Alice and Mirana could visit and bring Daisy along, after all, and Dr. Schnabel definitely had the resources to help him.

Carlie wasn't the only one to have considered it, either. Alice, Mirana and Harvey had suggested it as well. Sighing, she decided to see how the rest of the reunion went before making any major decisions.

00

Night fell and everyone took some more food before gathering around the campfire that Schnabel and Ashley had set up. Once everyone was settled, Schnabel spoke up.

"Guten abend, everyone! Ashley and I hope you've enjoyed the first day of our reunion here at St. Joseph's. For those of you who lived here previously, we are happy that you've come back. For those of you who are currently residing here, we hope that you'll make some friends within the next few days.

"Now, we wanted to go over some of the upcoming events. As you may have read in the invitations that were sent out, I have invited a counselor to come tomorrow and the day after. She is trained in trauma therapy, and will be having both group meetings and one-on-one sessions for those who want them. If it works out well, we may consider hiring her to come back regularly.

"Tomorrow we will also be having some fun. We've got bean bag throwing contests, a water balloon toss, a pie eating contest, a 'who's the baby' contest - I trust you all remembered to bring photographs of yourselves as babies- and several other games. And of course we'll have a treasure hunt. Does anyone have any questions?"

Jack raised his hand.

"Yes, Jack?"

"Yeah, uh…" He wiped some sweat from his brow. "Can I go lie down? I'm feelin' kinda off."

With that, Jack's eyes closed and he fainted, falling towards Elizabeth, who only just managed to catch him in time.


	24. Chapter 74

**A/N: Many thanks to Phish Tacko for helping me to beta this story! **

Ch. 74

After Jack fainted, Ashley and Schnabel got him inside to help him. Elizabeth and Angelica followed along while everyone else returned to their rooms to sleep.

Once Jack was inside the cool examination room, it wasn't long before he woke up. He still felt awful. He dropped all thoughts of his own misery when he saw Angelica and Elizabeth's faces, though.

"What is it?" Jack asked, wondering why the two women were looking like they were about to cry. "Did… Did the twins… Did something happen? Am I dying? What's going on? And where's Angela?"

"Will has her," Elizabeth answered. "And no, you're not dying. Nor are the twins."

"Well then why the sad faces?"

Angelica frowned and looked at Schnabel.

"The doctor says that you're probably going to have issues throughout your pregnancy and… and maybe it would be better if you stay here."

"We would visit you, of course," Elizabeth added. "It's just… Oh, you must think that we hate you! We don't, though, it's just-"

Jack sat up.

"Stop. It makes sense. I'm not mad."

The two women stared at Jack, unsure of whether to believe him.

He sighed.

"I'm really not mad. You both have a lot to do and Angelica, you have Angela and a broken arm. As long as you visit, I'll be fine." He motioned for them to come closer and hugged them both. "I'll be fine. Really."

"Alright," Angelica agreed, hugging him back. "If you're sure."

00

Elsewhere in the shelter, Legolas and Aragorn were still awake. Aragorn had figured out how to the use shower that the doctor had showed them, and he in turn had taught it to Legolas, hoping that the hot water might help the prince calm down.

Legolas, for his part, was doing his best to seem calm. To most people he would have appeared completely fine, but Aragorn knew better. Now the two were lying in their respective beds, staring at the ceiling.

Aragorn wanted to sleep. He really wanted to. It had been a long day and they'd traveled quite a distance before even coming to this realm, but he knew that he would be unable to rest so long as Legolas was awake and scared.

"Not getting any sleep, then?" Aragorn asked after more than an hour of silence.

"I can't," Legolas answered, his voice very soft.

Aragorn frowned and sat up, then moved over to Legolas' bed.

"Come here," He whispered, leaning up against the headboard.

Legolas crawled over and sat next to Aragorn, resting his head on his shoulder. Aragorn wrapped an arm around him. The physical contact helped Legolas begin to relax.

"It's going to be all right," Aragorn reassured him. "I promise that it will be."

"You cannot be sure of that," Legolas replied. "None of this was supposed to happen."

"I know. But you're safe here. The healer is knowledgeable and you are surrounded by others who can surely relate to you on some level. You'll make friends. And I'll visit as much as I can, and I'll bring the others too. And in nine months you'll have a baby to love, and it will be wonderful."

Aragorn really sounded positive, and it made Legolas smile, though it didn't calm his fears.

Sensing this, the Dúnedan continued.

"Perhaps you can consider it as another adventure."

"It is an adventure," Legolas agreed. "At least the healer here seems kind enough. Hopefully the other residents will be kind as well."

"You can meet them tomorrow. I'll stay as well and we'll greet them together."

Legolas half smiled, appreciative of Aragorn's willingness to help him.

"Hannon le, gwador nin." /(translation: "Thank you, my brother")

Aragorn nodded and hugged Legolas a little tighter, and it wasn't long before they both fell asleep.


	25. Chapter 75

**A/N: Many thanks to Phish Tacko for helping me to beta this story! Also, this ends part 3 of this series. Stay tuned for part 4!**

Ch. 75

The next morning, Legolas and Aragorn were woken up by the sound of footsteps, followed by a loud thump, followed by the sound of someone yelling.

The two wondered if someone had gotten hurt. This was confirmed when another voice rang out. Aragorn recognized it as coming from the healer.

"Sheldon? Are you okay?! Did you walk into the wall again?"

"Fuck you, man!" The other man - Sheldon, apparently - yelled back.

"Sam? Gilbert? Can someone go see if Sheldon's alright?" The healer called.

Then there were more footsteps, followed by some softer voices. After a few minutes, the sounds stopped entirely.

"Well, then," Aragorn said, standing up and stretching his back. He was sore from sleeping sitting up. "Ready to go meet everyone?"

00

Ten minutes later, Aragorn and Legolas walked down the hall. The followed the smell of food and the sound of voices out to a dining area, where they found several other people sitting and eating. There was a large table lined with trays of food set up and a line near it. Schnabel spotted them before they spotted him.

"Legolas! Aragorn!" The doctor said, smiling. "Good morning! Everyone, this is our new resident Legolas and his friend Aragorn!"

Everyone smiled and nodded and immediately went back to eating their food, with the exception of a very curvy woman with dark hair. For some reason, she was staring at them. It made Legolas feel slightly uncomfortable, so he looked away.

"Come, have something to eat," Schnabel suggested.

Legolas nodded and walked up to the buffet table, Aragorn following closely behind. He examined the trays, not recognizing most of the food. It smelled good, at least, so he decided to give it a try. He piled some eggs and bacon onto his plate.

Once Aragorn had done the same, the two sat down between a man with red hair and another man with glasses, wires around his jaw, and black frizzy hair with a white stripe. He didn't seem to be eating anything, though. Rather, he was drinking something through a straw. He looked very annoyed.

"Hello," Aragorn said, trying to be polite.

The dark-haired man glared at him, so Aragorn decided to try his luck with the other person.

"Hello?" He asked.

The red-headed man smiled.

"Good morning. My name is Gilbert."

Both Aragorn and Legolas smiled back.

Gilbert finished his last bite of egg whites and spinach and then began to introduce the others.

"I know everyone's eating, but most people here are nice," He explained. "Mr. Todd there with the straw can't talk because his jaw is broken. That there," He said, pointing at Sam. "the guy across the table with the yellow shirt on, his name is Sam. He's a really good guy, we've been friends for a while."

Hearing this, Sam waved at them.

"That's Ichabod," Gilbert continued, motioning at a thin man who was sitting next to a younger boy. "And that's his friend Masbath."

Ichabod glanced up at the newbies, but didn't say anything. He was too preoccupied with trying not to scream at Masbath for trying to force him to eat. He knew that he had to - that he had lost a lot of weight and had to gain some of it back, but it was still frustrating to have someone at least fifteen years younger telling him what to do.

"And, uh," Gilbert said. "That's Edward. The beautiful woman who's helping him eat is my wife, Becky."

At first, Edward had looked normal enough, that was until Legolas caught sight of his hands, or lack thereof. Being as polite as he was, he didn't say anything, but it took all of his willpower not to stare.

"He's a really nice person," Gilbert said quietly.

"I'm sure." Legolas replied, trying to sound confident. "I'm sure that he is."

Gilbert smiled again.

"A lot of people are hanging out outside, so you'll meet them in a little bit. If you want, you two can hang out with me and Becky and Sam and Arnie until you get to know everyone better."

"Thank you," Legolas answered. "That's very kind of you."

"Of course," Gilbert said. "It's no problem at all."

00

Legolas liked the food that had been served, but he could only eat so much before he began to feel sick. He felt like that with most food in general though, so it wasn't anything new.

Gilbert had waited for him and Aragorn to finish before leading them outside into the back yard. On the way out, they passed by Angelica, who had continued to stare at them. She had eventually stood up and moved someplace else, but Legolas couldn't help but wonder about her.

One thing that seemed interesting to him was her body. Unlike elven women, who were typically tall, slender, and without obvious curves, this woman was very shapely. He had accidentally caught himself staring at her backside for a few seconds. Thankfully, no one had seen it. He made a promise to himself to be more careful in the future.

As Gilbert had mentioned, there were several other people outside- adults as well as children. Gilbert led the two around.

"This is Mrs. Lovett," He said, bringing them over to her. She was busy with Emma, sitting in the grass with the little girl and picking dandelions with her.

"'Ello!" Mrs. Lovett greeted them. "You can call me Nell, and this is Emma, Mr. T's little girl."

"I am Aragorn, and this is Legolas," Aragorn replied. "Mr. T is the man with the broken jaw, right?" He asked, feeling slightly confused. Many of these people looked alike.

"Yes, he is, and if he gives you any trouble, you let me know," Mrs Lovett said with a smirk.

"We will."

"Let's go see who else is out here," Gilbert looked around. "Ah. That blonde guy, over there, next to the woman with the tight jeans and Simpsons t-shirt, that's Mort Rainey and his girlfriend Maryanne. Mort can be… kind of odd, for lack of better words. He's a bit angry like Mr. Todd is, but if you leave him alone, he will usually leave you alone. The little boy that Maryanne is holding is Mort's son, Anakin."

Legolas noticed that Anakin had blonde hair much like his own and smiled.

"He's adorable."

"He is," Gilbert agreed.

He went on to briefly introduce the two to Sheldon Sands and Tom Hanson, but didn't dwell too long on them because he barely knew them. Instead, he decided to tell them about the others who weren't outside.

"There's a few more people here who aren't out because they're not feeling well. There's Jack, who's a pirate. The woman with the dark hair and broken arm that you saw at breakfast, that's his lady, Angelica. They have a daughter named Angela and two more on the way. Their friends Will and Elizabeth are also here. And, of course, the guy with the crazy red hair is Tarrant. Tarrant Hightopp. I think you might get along with him," Gilbert said.

"I would?" Legolas tilted his head inquisitively.

"He's from a different place. He'll probably tell you he's from Scotland, but he's not. Anyways, he's married to a woman named Alice, and they have a daughter named Daisy and he's having twins too, but only his sister Carlie is here with him now. You can't miss her- She's got wild red hair and she's real tall. Real pretty."

"Interesting," Aragorn commented. "Another traveler from another place. Well, at least we're not the only ones."


End file.
